
Class _2>_(kS0* 
Book_ Jl4 T- 
GopyrightN 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ROME through the 

Stereoscope 

Journeys in and about the Eternal City 

[See Pocket in Back Cover for Five Patent Maps] 



Personally Conducted by 
D. J. ELLISON, D. D. 

^fe^i -it 



FW&. 



Underwood & Underwood 

NEW YORK LONDON 
Ottawa, Kansas Toronto, Canada 



TrtrXtBRAfiV OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Copies Received 

MJG. 23 1902 

COPVBWHT WTRV 

CLASfPfltXXa No. 

cow b. 



Copyright, 1902 

By Underwood & Underwood 

New York and London 

(Entered at Stationers' Hall) 

Stereographs copyrighted in the United States 
and foreign countries 



Map System 
Patented in the United States, August 21, 1900 
Patented in Great Britain, March 22, 1900 
Patented in France, March 26, 1900. S. G*. D. G. 
Switzerland, + Patent Nr. 21,211 
Patents applied for in other countries 



' * *A11 rights reserved 



C*1 



CONTENTS 



Introduction v 

Author's Preface vii 

A First Word xiii 

The Story of Rome xxxv 

How to Use Stereographs lxx 

ITINERARY 

i. The Ancient Tiber and its Island— from the southeast — Rome 4 

2. Capitoline, Palatine and Caelian Hills— Once the World's Centre— 

from the Janiculum, Rome 26 

3. Aventine Hill and Distant Alban Mountains— southeast from the Jan- 

iculum, Rome 38 

4. Rome, the Eternal City— from the Dome of St. Peter's 52 

5. The Great Pontifical Palace, the Vatican— northeast from St. Peter's 

Dome, Rome 69 

6. St. Peter's and the Vatican— Greatest of Churches, Greatest of Palaces, 

Rome 84 

7. The Great Altar (95 feet high) , St. Peter's Church, Rome 94 

8. The Famous Statue of St. Peter— Whose Toes have been Kissed by 

Millions, Rome 101 

9. The Holy of Holies— St. Peter's Tomb— St. Peter's Church, Rome. . . . 105 

10. Wonderful Mosaic— Copy of Raphael's " Transfiguration," St. Peter's 

Church, Rome ; 107 

11. Tomb of Clement XIII, St. Peter's Church, Rome in 

12. u Pieta," by Michelangelo, St. Peter's Church— the Most Celebrated 

Marble in Rome 114 

13. The Vatican Palace, Residence of the Pope, Rome 116 

14. The Sistine Chapel, Vatican— where the Pope is Crowned, Rome 1 20 

15. Grand Corridor, Vatican library— Longest Room in the World— Rome 125 

16. The library of the Vatican, Rome 127 

17. Gallery of Statues, Vatican, Rome 130 

18. Agony— the Famous Group of Laocoon, Vatican, Rome 133 

19. Bower of St. Anthony, Vatican Garden, Rome 136 

20. Bridge and Castle of St. Angelo (A. D. 136), Rome 138 

21. The Tiber, Castle of St. Angelo and St. Peter's Church, Rome 145 

22. Looking Southwest from Monte Pincio— St. Peter's in the Distance- 

Rome 147 

23. " Sanctuary and Home of Art and Piety— Pantheon ! Pride of Rome." 155 

24. Palace of the Senator and Capital Tower— Site of the Tabularium, 

Rome 162 



ITINERARY 

25. The renowned Statue of Marcus Aurelius— preserved to us from Im- 
perial times— and the Capitol, Rome 171 

36. Temple of Vespasian, Arch of Septimius Severus— east from the Capi- 
tol—Forum, Rome 175, 182 

27. The Roman Forum— southeast from the Capitol, Rome 179, 200 

28. Bas-reliefs (time of Trajan), Column of Phocas and Columns to the 

Temple of Saturn, Forum, Rome 327 

29. Forum and Capitol from near the Basilica of Constantine, showing 

ancient pavement of the Sacra Via, excavated 1900 181, 330 

30. A Mighty Monument to Heathen Brutality and Christian Courage — 

the Colosseum, Rome 239 

31. Stupendous Interior of the Colosseum— Dens beneath the Arena and 

Sweep of Arcades where 50,000 People Sat — Rome 246 

32. Palatine Hill— from the Colosseum— Rome 250 

33. Via Sacra, over which Rome's Triumphal Pageants Passed— west 

from the Colosseum — Rome 260 

34. The Triumphal Arch of Constantine, Rome 262 

35. Magnificent Baths of Caracalla, ruins of the Peristyle, Rome 264 

36. Trajan's Forum and Column (147 feet high), Rome 268 

37. The Gallery, Palace of the Prince of Colonna— the Oldest Roman 

Family— Rome 274 

38. Chamber in the Cappuccino Catacombs, Rome— Showing Sacred 

Earth from Palestine 275 

39. Michelangelo's " Moses," in " San Pietro in Vincoli." Rome 277 

40. The Gate of St. Paul and Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, Rome 280 

41. The Splendid Altar of St. Paul's— Presented to Pius IX by an Infidel, 

Rome 284 

42. Beautiful Twisted Columns, Ancient Cloisters of St. Paul's, Rome 286 

43. Gate of St. Sebastian— the Porta Appia of the Aurelian Wall, Rome. . 287 

44. Along the Appian Way— Constructed 4th Century B. C, from Rome 

to Brindisi 289 

45. Venerable Tombs and Young Italian Life, beside the renowned Ap- 

pian Way — Rome 291 

46. Aqueduct of Claudius (42 miles long, constructed A. D. 52), near 

Rome 294 



LIST OF MAPS 

ALL BOUND IN BOOKLET INSERTED 
IN THE BACK COVER 

I. General Map of Italy. 

II. Modern Rome. 

III. Ancient Rome, Time of the Emperors. 

IV. St. Peter's and the Vatican. 
V. Roman Forum. 



INTRODUCTION 

The present work, " Rome Through the Stereoscope/ ' 
I have read in the course of its preparation, and I am 
satisfied that it possesses certain unique features which 
make it the most valuable means of obtaining a knowl- 
edge of that City, particularly when it is impossible 
for the student to supplement information obtained 
from books by an actual visit to the places themselves. 
It certainly gives experiences which are very close to 
those obtained from actual presence in the places re- 
ferred to. These satisfactory results are obtained by 
the combination here employed for the first time of the 
stereoscopic photograph with its natural and life-like 
effects, and the ingenious map system, which is a recent 
invention and very practical, and the conversational tone 
of the text — a feature not found in guide books — all of 
which render the experiences obtained definite and real. 

James C. Egbert, Jr. 

Columbia University, July, 1902. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

A few years ago I spent a winter in southern Georgia, 
and there I had the good fortune to encounter a quaint 
but clever old negro whose philosophical observations 
were often both instructive and amusing. Standing one 
day beside him as he was working in the cotton-field, I 
asked him when and where he first heard of President 
Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation — the best thing 
that ever befell his race. Graphically he described to me 
the circumstances under which the news reached him, and 
then he added with a serious shake of his head and a far- 
away look in his eyes, " Ah, massa, I knows now a heap 
moar 'bout what dat all means dan I did den. Fse bin 
growiri in it!" 

Crude as was the old man's expression, it aptly de- 
scribes my experiences with the stereoscopic photograph, 
" I've been growing in it." In common with most people, 
I always admired the marvelous realism of the stereo- 
graph, its mirror-like way of showing things, but I did 
not fully understand the scientific principles upon which 
it was based and hence I did not realize how funda- 
mentally it differed from all other illustrations; neither 
did I realize the important nature of a person's experience 



VU1 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

in connection with it. Now, as the result of considerable 
study and careful observation, I am convinced that it is 
possible for a person to gain by the proper use of these 
stereographs the essentials of the experiences of actual 
travel. Naturally, then, I am convinced that the stereo- 
graph must hold an indispensable place in the home and 
school. 

Not only has the element of time entered into my appre- 
ciation of the value of stereographs, but the knowledge of 
the best zvay to use them has been a matter of growth as 
well. It soon became evident that just as it would be 
foolish to visit Rome without guide-books and maps, so 
also would it be foolish, and even more so, to use stereo- 
graphs of Rome without such helps. Accordingly, the 
publishers have labored unceasingly and at great expense 
to devise a system of classification of stereographs and a 
method of treatment that would secure the desired results ; 
and the universal testimony of those who have given the 
subject careful attention assures them that they have been 
successful. 

In view of the fact that there is so much uncertainty 
and misunderstanding on the part of the general public, 
and even among the educated classes, in regard to the 
nature of stereoscopic photographs, the way to use them 
and the experiences to be gained from them, we are justi- 
fied in inserting at the beginning of this volume the 
scholarly and comprehensive article by Mr. A. E. Os- 
borne, entitled " A First Word," which deals with the re- 
markable results to be obtained from the proper use of 



AUTHOR S PREFACE IX 

stereographs. No one who desires to know about this 
climax of all illustrations and the possibilities of its use 
should fail to give this article careful and painstaking 
study. To this article we refer all questions about the 
nature of stereographs and our methods of treatment. It 
is my object here to call attention merely to the main fea- 
tures of this publication. 

T,he plan of this Stereoscopic Tour of Rome consists of 
four distinct parts : 

First, the forty-six stereoscopic photographs, by means 
of which we are enabled to stand in forty-six of the more 
important places in Rome. These standpoints are so 
chosen that, taking them together, it is made possible for 
us to gain a clear knowledge of Rome as a whole and a 
near acquaintance with the buildings and objects of 
special interest. 

Second, the patent maps, general and sectional, which 
are found in a booklet inserted in a pocket in the back 
cover. By means of these maps, both the point of view 
and the extent of vision in each stereograph is definitely 
.shown, so that the relation of each stereographed scene 
to every other one and to the whole city can be seen almost 
at a glance. I cannot emphasize too strongly the im- 
portance of getting a distinct experience of location in 
each of the different places in Rome by the help of these 
maps. In my judgment this map system is the most im- 
portant invention that has ever feeen made to aid in the 
use of photographic illustration. 

Third, the main body of the book itself, in which the 



X ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

stereoscopic scenes are treated in regular order. All of the 
text is given in the first person, and in such a form as to 
furnish, as nearly as possible, the help and inspiration of a 
personal guide talking to a person immediately in connec- 
tion with the object or place seen. This method of pro- 
cedure finds its justification in the very nature of the 
stereograph, which approaches so nearly to the reality that 
it should be accorded the same treatment. 

Fourth, " The Story of Rome," found in the first part 
of this book, which aims to trace briefly but continuously 
the progress of the Roman people from the earliest times 
to the present day. It is believed that this will be much 
more interesting and valuable than an ordinary historical 
sketch, inasmuch as it is told in connection with Rome as 
seen from the Janiculum Hill in Stereograph No. 2. 

In the preparation of this volume material has been 
gathered from every reliable source, the object being to 
utilize whatever would best serve to interpret to the mind 
of the beholder the scene before him — or, to put it more 
definitely, that would help him to get experiences nearest 
to those of the traveller. 

The object of this Stereoscopic Tour is, then, to supply 
the best means of gaining at home a personal acquaint- 
ance with the Rome to-day as a whole, and its wealth of 
historic remains, and a complete survey of its long past. 
As such I believe it will be of primary importance 
in connection with the study of any period of Roman his- 
tory or any particular phase of the varied Roman life, 
whether art, architecture, politics or religion. There has 



author's preface xi 

been a tendency among those studying some one period or 
a special side of Roman life to use illustrations, if they use 
illustrations at all, of only such fragmentary parts of 
Rome as might be directly connected with their limited 
field of study. Such people might think, at first, that only 
certain ones of these forty-six stereoscopic scenes of Rome 
could be of value to them. For example, if they, for the 
time being, were especially interested in the history asso- 
ciated with a particular part of the Forum, they would 
desire to see only that portion of the Forum, and would 
not realize the importance of a broad look over the city, 
which would give a clear conception of the setting of the 
Forum amidst its historic surroundings. Or, again, if 
they are studying the ancient periods of Roman history 
they think there is no advantage in seeing St. Peter's and 
the Vatican, the centre of one of the most important of 
the later periods of Rome. But it is certain that any of 
these historical sites or remains lose much of their value 
when they are studied by themselves apart from either 
their material surroundings or their historical connections. 
For this reason no little effort has been put forth to so 
plan this Tour that the person who follows it shall get a 
complete and comprehensive idea of Rome, both geo- 
graphically and historically. On account of this unity 
and completeness, it is impossible to omit any part without 
not only losing the value of that part, but also detracting 
vitally from what remains. 

In conclusion, the author wishes to acknowledge his 
indebtedness to James C. Egbert, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of 



Xll ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Roman Archaeology and Epigraphy in Columbia Univer- 
sity, whose revision of the original manuscript has served 
to eliminate errors and whose scholarly suggestions and 
criticisms have been most valuable. 

D. J. Ellison. 
New York, July, 1902. 



A FIRST WORD. 

This book, with the five maps of a new patented map 
system, which it contains, is intended to accompany forty- 
six stereoscopic photographs of Rome. The whole plan 
of the book, and of the maps, is adapted to the special 
nature of stereoscopic photographs and the special results 
to be gained from them, hence to use the book to the best 
advantage a person should understand what a stereo- 
scopic photograph is, and what are the experiences one 
may have in connection with it. 

The purpose of these introductory pages is to call at- 
tention, first of all, to the essential respects in which a 
stereoscopic photograph differs from all other photo- 
graphs or pictures. The prime quality that puts the 
stereograph in a class by itself is its depth or perspective. 
All other pictures suggest depth, but the stereograph has 
the far and near of the real landscape. The marble pillar 
looks round and solid, " the branches of the trees/' as Dr. 
Oliver Wendell Holmes says, " run out at us as if they 
would scratch our eyes out." Moreover, this individual 
characteristic is a necessary requirement to the end that it 
may be possible for the stereoscopic picture to appear life- 
size, a remarkable effect that will be explained below. 
Again, the stereoscopic representation differs from all 
others in the conditions under which we look at it. By the 
peculiar construction of the stereoscope, the observer is 
shut away entirely from this country, from the room in 
which he is sitting. 

The second object of this introduction is to consider 
some of the distinctive results to be gained by the use of 
stereoscopic photographs, particularly to point out the 



XIV ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

most remarkable fact that, as a result of the special nature 
of the stereograph and the special conditions under which 
it is seen, it is possible for the observer to obtain the same 
mental experiences that he would have if he were looking 
at the scene itself. Certainly the real end sought by a 
traveller to Italy is his mental experiences, his states of 
consciousness there; all he brings home with him, of 
course, are the results of these mental experiences; he 
does not bring home St. Peter's, or the Tiber; and the 
mental experiences given by the stereograph are of pre- 
cisely the same kind or quality as those received by the 
" man on the spot." The testimony given below by the 
man who visited Venice after looking at stereographs of 
certain parts of that city throws interesting light on this 
point. 

But to get these experiences a person must look at the 
stereoscopic scene with attention and with the same 
knowledge of it that the traveller has in visiting the actual 
place. So the third and final object of this introduction 
will be to discuss the helps required for the proper use of 
stereographs. Under this head we shall describe a new 
system of maps which enables the person to understand 
exactly what part of the earth he is seeing in the stereo- 
scope, and what his surroundings must be; we shall de- 
scribe, further, the nature of the information to be given 
in connection with the stereograph, and lastly the means 
necessary to induce the proper states of mind. 

THE DISTINCTIVE NATURE OF STEREOGRAPHS. 

Coming back to the characteristics of stereographs that 
make them individual, all people with normal eyes who 
have looked at properly made stereoscopic photographs 
through a good stereoscope, must have noticed a striking 
sense of depth in them. The objects represented appear 



A FIRST WORD. XV 

to " stand out " as " solid objects." It is true that any 
picture in which light and shade are properly managed has 
more or less of the effect or appearance of solidity ; but in 
the stereoscope there is added an entirely different kind of 
perspective which gives, to our eyes, actual depth, actual 
solidity, actual space. 

This difference between the appearance of objects in 
the stereoscope, and in all other pictures, corresponds to 
the difference between one-eye and two-eye vision. The 
ordinary photograph is taken by a camera with a single 
lens opening, and consequently shows us objects exactly 
as we should see the same objects with one eye closed. 
The two pictures that make up a stereograph, on the other 
hand, are made by a camera with two lenses, set as far 
apart as our two eyes, and thus we get in the stereoscope 
the effect of seeing objects with both eyes open. 

The way in which vision with two eyes differs from 
vision with one eye is thus stated by Dr. Oliver Wendell 
Holmes : " We see something with the second eye that 
we do not see with the first, in other words, the two eyes 
see different pictures of the same thing, for the obvious 
reason that they look from points two or three inches 
apart. By means of these two different views of an ob- 
ject, the mind, as it wer^ feels round it and gets an idea 
of its solidity. We clasp an object with our eyes as with 
our arms, or with our hands, or with our thumb and fin- 
ger, and then we know it to be something more than a 
surface. Though, as we have seen, the two eyes look on 
two different pictures, we perceive but one picture. The 
two have run together and become blended in a third, 
which shows us everything we see in each. But, in order 
that they should run together, both the eyes and the brain 
must be in a normal state. Push one eye a little inward 
with the forefinger, and the image is doubled, or at least 
confused ; only certain parts of the two retinae work har- 



XVi ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

moniously together, and you have disturbed their natural 
relations. Again, take two or three glasses more than 
temperance permits, and you see double; the eyes are 
right enough, probably, but the brain is in trouble, and 
does not report their telegraphic messages correctly. 
These exceptions illustrate the every-day truth that, when 
we are in right condition, our two eyes see two somewhat 
different pictures, which our perception combines to form 
one picture, representing objects in all their dimensions, 
and not merely as surfaces." 

Passing on to the possibility of utilizing this principle 
of two-eye vision in making photographs, he says : 

" Now, if we can get two artificial pictures of any 
given object, one as we should see it with the right eye, 
the other as we should see it with the left eye, and then, 
looking at the right picture, and that only with the right 
eye, and at the left picture, and that only with the left eye, 
contrive some way of making these pictures run together, 
as we have seen our two views of natural objects do, we 
shall get the sense of solidity that natural objects give us." 

How can we attain these two ends ? As we have sug- 
gested, we obtain the two pictures of any given object or 
place by means of a camera having two lenses, set between 
two and three inches apart, the normal distance between 
our eyes. Thus it is that we get the two photographs seen 
on the stereoscopic card. Many have supposed that these 
two photographs were exact duplicates of each other, but 
since they are taken from different standpoints (nearly 
three inches apart), it is obvious that they must differ. 
By a careful comparison of the two parts of any particular 
stereograph in which some object in the foreground is 
outlined against some object in the background, we can 
partially discover the differences corresponding to the dif- 
ferences between the observations of the two eyes, one 



A FIRST WORD. XV11 

seeing a little farther around on the right side of things, 
the other seeing farther around their left side. 

We can obtain the required double pictures then. But 
the pictures are two and we need to run them together so 
that we may see them as one, as in natural vision. " How 
shall we make one picture out of two, the corresponding 
parts of which are separated by a distance of two or three 
inches ? " We are enabled to do this by looking through 
the two prisms in the stereoscope. These two pieces of 
glass, thick at one edge and thin at the other, and with 
their thin edges turned toward each other, have the power 
when we look through them of throwing the two pictures 
inward, so that we can run them together into one repre- 
sentation, in which we get once more the effect of all three 
dimensions in space — height, width, thickness or depth. 

Speaking of this resulting effect, Dr. Holmes says: 
" The first effect of looking at a good photograph through 
the stereoscope is a surprise such as no painting ever pro- 
duced. The mind feels its way into the very depth of the 
picture. The scraggy branches of a tree in the fore- 
ground run out at us as if they would scratch our eyes 
out. The elbow of a figure stands forth so as to make 
us almost uncomfortable." It must be evident to anyone 
that in the stereoscope we do not look merely upon the flat 
surface of a photograph, but we see every object back of 
the photographic card as actually as we see everything 
back of a window pane. Though the space thus placed 
before us in the stereoscope is not a space in the sense that 
we can stretch our hand out in it, still it is an actual space 
for the mind through our eyes. 

Furthermore, the stereograph becomes not only an 
actual space to the eyes in the stereoscope, but when the 
focal length of the camera, the distance from the lenses to 
the plate, and the focal length of the stereoscope, the dis- 
tance from the lenses to the stereograph, correspond, the 



XV111 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

stereograph may be seen as a life-size space, a life-size 
representation, the object or landscape being shown in 
natural size and at natural distance. That is, the two 
small, flat, photographic prints, nearly three by three 
inches in size, about six inches from the eyes, can serve as 
two windows through which we look and beyond which 
we see the representation of the object or place standing 
out as large as the original object or place would appear 
to the eyes of one looking from the place where the cam- 
era stood. 

The possibility under such conditions of getting from a 
small image near us, the impression of a large object or 
scene in the distance, is made clear by a little thinking. 
Suppose a man stands thirty feet from the camera when 
the photographer makes the exposure. The man will 
appear on the photograph as only a tiny image. But when 
we look out through the lenses of the stereoscope, this 
small image only a few inches from us delivers the same 
message to our eyes as would the full-size man thirty feet 
away. The simple experiment of seeing how a small piece 
of paper held six inches from our eye will completely hide 
a man thirty feet from us, demonstrates this perfectly. 
The same piece of paper would hide an immense building 
farther away. It is in accordance with this fact that when 
we look through the lenses of the stereoscope we are 
enabled practically to look also through the stereograph as 
if it were a transparent screen or window, and see the real 
objects, full size again, as far distant from us as they were 
from the camera when the stereograph was taken. 

There are those to whom it appears at first that they 
see only miniature spaces in the stereoscope. It is true 
that not all the conditions of actual vision are so fulfilled 
in the stereoscope as to make it necessary for a person to 
see things in their natural proportions ; nevertheless, it is 
found that enough of these conditions are fulfilled to make 



A FIRST WORD. XIX 

it entirely possible for anyone to acquire rapidly the power 
of such interpretation. In fact, this miniature effect to 
some people is due mainly to their constant remembrance 
of the small card a few inches from their eyes. They 
modify what they might see by what they think they ought 
to see. If such people will take note of the fact that none 
of the objects seen in the stereoscope are located on the 
surface of the photographic prints so close to their eyes, 
but that they see every object back of these prints as 
actually as if they were looking through transparent 
screens or windows, then they soon get impressions of ob- 
jects or places in the stereoscope as large as they would if 
looking at the original object or place through windows 
of the same size and at the same distance from their eyes. 
" We must grasp and hold fast to this fact as to the size 
of these representations when seen in the stereoscope, and 
as a necessary help to this, their location entirely separate 
from and back of the stereoscopic card, if we are to be in 
a position to begin to judge of their usefulness." So 
much for the remarkable nature of a stereoscopic repre- 
sentation and the way in which it differs from all other 
representations. 

With regard to the special conditions under which we 
look at the stereoscopic scene, a word only is required; 
that is, that we look with our eyes shut in by the hood of 
the stereoscope, so that all our immediate physical sur- 
roundings are shut away from us. 

REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES GAINED FROM THE USE OF 
STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS. 

We come now to the consideration of the practical 
significance of these differences between stereoscopic and 
all other illustrations. We pass over the obvious advan- 
tages of the more accurate visual impressions of things 



XX ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

gained in the stereoscope and come at once to the fact, 
that, because of the special nature of stereoscopic photo- 
graphs and the peculiar conditions under which we look at 
them, it is possible for people to get an essentially and 
fundamentally different experience from them than can be 
obtained from any other illustrations. Dr. Hervey, ex- 
president of the Teachers' College, New York, in writing 
of some stereographs of Palestine, put the matter as fol- 
lows : " When one looks at an ordinary picture of Pales- 
tine with the naked eye, one feels himself to be still in 
America, or wherever he may be at the time. Through 
the stereoscope, with the outer world shut off by the hood, 
one feels himself to be looking right at the scene itself." 

The full meaning and the great importance of the fact 
alluded to in this statement is not easily realized. In try- 
ing to bring out its significance more specifically, we shall 
begin by saying that with the proper attention and the 
proper helps, maps, etc., a person can obtain in the stereo- 
scope a definite sense or experience of geographical loca- 
tion in that part of the earth he sees represented before 
him. The general impression has been that there is no 
possible way by which a person can get an experience of 
location in a distant country except by going there in 
body. It is now being found that it is possible to obtain 
a definite experience of location geographically in a defi- 
nite place, in a distant part of the earth, while sitting at 
home in connection with a stereoscopic photograph of that 
place. 

To guard against misunderstanding, let us state at 
this point what is not affirmed. It is not affirmed that 
the traveller's experiences of movement can be obtained 
in connection with the stereoscope. But who would not 
consider it a great privilege to stand in forty-six definite 
places in Rome and look with a definite field of vision? 
The claim is that genuine experiences of this character, 



A FIRST WORD. XXI 

with certain limitations to be spoken of later, can be ob- 
tained in the stereoscope. It is to be recognized also that 
all the individual differences between people would hold 
in one case as in the other. One person gains more than 
another from an actual visit to a place, and of course one 
person will gain more than another from the stereographs 
of the place. 

Before anyone says that it is impossible to get even 
such experiences in the stereoscope as we have alluded to, 
let us consider an important and relevant fact about our 
nature, the fact that our sense of location is determined in 
nearly all cases not from what we hear or feel, but from 
what we see. When we look at ordinary photographs in 
our hands or on the wall, or when we look at paintings in 
a gallery, we always see the book or frame or part of the 
room about us, as well as the pictured scene, and conse- 
quently we continue to have a distinct sense of our location 
in the place where the picture is. In using the stereoscope, 
however, the hood about our eyes shuts our room away 
from us, shuts out the America or England that may be 
about us, and shuts us in with the hill or city or the people 
standing out beyond the stereoscopic card. If now, we 
know by the use of maps exactly where on the earth's 
surface this hill or city or group of people is located, then 
it is in accordance with the law of our nature that we may 
have a distinct sense or experience of our location there. 
Other conditions are that we shall look intently, and look 
with clear thought, not only of the location of what we see 
before us, but also of what we know (from the study of 
the maps) must be on our left or right or behind us. 

The best evidence, and indeed a sufficient proof, that 
we do get such an experience when we look at stereoscopic 
photographs properly, is the fact that, ever afterwards, we 
find ourselves going back in memory over mountains and 
seas to the place in the distant country where the real place 



XX11 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

is located, rather than to the room in America or England 
where we saw the stereoscopic scene. We find that our 
memory acts in a decidedly different way when we recall 
our experiences in connection with other pictures, which 
not only lack actual depth for the eyes, but which we have 
looked upon while our immediate surroundings were not 
shut out. Here is an illustration. In the Metropolitan 
Museum of Art in New York there is a beautiful painting 
of a place in Holland. It is a haying scene, and the field, 
with its mounds of hay, stretches away to the distant hill 
with a fine effect of space and reality. I have lingered 
before this scene many times until it stands out with great 
vividness in my memory. I think I know about where the 
real place is located in Holland. Nevertheless, whenever 
I think of this scene my memory goes back directly and 
definitely, not to Holland, but to the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art in New York, and afterwards, if at all, to Holland. 
Though it might have seemed sometimes that I became 
entirely oblivious to my immediate surroundings, while 
gazing at the splendid picture, and that I was in the very 
presence of the real scene in Holland, still the record my 
memory has of my experience shows that I really did have 
a definite sense of location in New York all the while. 
This we see is in decided contrast to what I found to be 
the behavior of my memory in regard to my experiences 
when I have looked at scenes in the stereoscope intelli- 
gently. The place where I was while looking at the 
stereoscopic scene is entirely or almost entirely ignored. 
My thought goes back directly and unerringly to the dis- 
tant part of the earth where the actual scene is located. 
This is the best of proof as to what was the state of my 
consciousness at the time. 

Now, whenever we do get this sense of location in a 
certain place, Rome, for instance, in the stereoscope, it 
means that we have gained not merely the same visual 



A FIRST WORD. XX111 

impressions in all essential respects of certain places in 
Rome that we should get if we were there in body, but 
also part of the very same feelings we should experience 
there. It means that we are pervaded with entirely differ- 
ent emotions — that we are in a state of emotion appro- 
priate to a place in Rome and its surroundings, rather than 
the state of emotion that would result from being in our 
every-day home surroundings before a picture of Rome. 
The only difference in the feelings experienced in the 
presence of Rome itself and in the presence of Rome as 
shown in the stereoscope is a difference in quantity or in- 
tensity, not a difference in kind. So this sense or ex- 
perience of geographical location means a definite state 
of a person's consciousness, which has all the three as- 
pects of intellect, feeling and desire, that make up the trav- 
eller's state of consciousness on the spot. We have room 
for only a word about the vital importance of thus getting 
the emotions that a place can inspire. Says Professor 
Ladd : " The emotions furnish the springs of action for 
man in his rational activities, which but echoes what was 
said long ago, that out of the heart," not out of the in- 
tellect, "are the issues of life." We must ever remember, 
then, with Professor Sully, that " the objects of the ex- 
ternal world only acquire value for us in so far as they 
touch our feelings." 

It is evident, of course, as we have said above, that we 
cannot get in the stereoscope the traveller's experiences 
of movement; we are limited to such experiences as the 
traveller might get while standing in certain places with 
definite fields of vision. Neither do we get color. Other 
limitations we shall have to consider in connection with 
the stereoscope are that the experience of location in the 
place represented will be limited in duration, often lasting 
with some people only a few seconds at a time, and fur- 
ther, as mentioned above, there will be a difference in the 



XXIV ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

quantity or intensity, but not a difference in the kind of 
feelings. It is found, however, that none of these limita- 
tions affect the reality or genuineness of one's experiences 
in connection with the stereoscope. 

But probably some one is insisting now that " after all 
these cannot be the genuine results, the genuine experi- 
ences of travel, these cannot be real experiences of being 
in certain places in Italy, which people get in the stereo- 
scope, because it is not the real Italy they are looking at." 

At first thought such a statement is absolutely conclu- 
sive and final. The absence of the real Italy in the stereo- 
scope would seem to make anything but a make-believe 
experience of being in Italy impossible. But let us wait a 
moment. What is the end sought in going as a traveller 
to Italy ? What would be the results to us of such a trip ? 
As travellers, we would not go to possess ourselves of the 
buildings or lands of Italy. We certainly would not 
attempt to bring the material fields and cities back with us. 
Such an idea would never enter our minds. Our purpose 
in making that long and arduous journey would be to gain 
certain experiences of being in Italy. What we would 
bring back with us would not be the material Italy, but 
the effect of these experiences in our lives and the power 
to go back to them in memory. 

Now if the end sought in taking such a trip is not Italy, 
the material land, but experiences of being in the land, 
let us be sure to understand what we mean by our ex- 
periences of being in the land, in distinction from the land 
itself. To develop this more clearly let us think of a 
traveller standing in Rome near the Arch of Titus, look- 
ing out over the Roman Forum. As he stands there, 
with the ancient Forum stretching away before him, he is 
concerned with two kinds of realities, each essentially 
different from the other. First, he is concerned with the 
material soil and broken marble, realities of the physical 



A FIRST WORD. XXV 

world; second, he is concerned with the realities of his 
inner mental states — his states of consciousness, his 
thoughts, emotions, desires. The realities of the physical 
world have weight and material substance, the realities of 
his inner mental states are without weight and material 
substance. Yet it cannot be emphasized too strongly that 
these states of consciousness are actual realities, though so 
different from the realities of stone and earth, that while 
the broken column is a reality, the thought and emotion it 
stirs in a man are realities also. On the one hand we have 
the facts of the physical world, and on the other the facts 
of consciousness, the facts of conscious life. 

Thus we are able to see clearly that all the pleasure 
and profit for this traveller is found not in the extent of 
the material ruins of Italy, but in the extent of the states 
of his consciousness, which are called into existence by 
these material ruins of Italy. No matter how many 
physical objects there may be in the Forum, no matter 
how many thoughts and emotions they are capable of stir- 
ring in the human soul, nevertheless a certain traveller 
gets, as a result of his presence there, only so much as he 
becomes aware of, only so much as comes to have exist- 
ence in his own consciousness. The Forum is the same 
in its physical make-up, whoever goes to see it, or whether 
anybody goes to see it, but the states of consciousness, 
that different people experience in connection with it, or 
that a certain person experiences at different times, will 
vary greatly according as such people notice more or are 
capable, because of greater knowledge or experience, of 
thinking and feeling more. 

We see then that when we speak of a man's expe- 
riences in a place, we do not mean at all the objective 
place, made up of material things, the realities of the 
physical world, but we do mean specifically the man's sub- 
jective states, the realities of his inner life, which are 



XXVI ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

called into existence by the place. There are two kinds 
of realities involved, the former serving as a cause, the 
latter being the effect ; the physical reality serves simply as 
a means to produce a certain state of consciousness, the 
mental reality, the end sought. 

Now we can return to the stereoscope and understand 
how it is that proving one of these realities to be absent 
does not necessarily prove that the other is. The two are 
not identical. To prove that there is no real Italy before 
one in the stereoscope does not prove there is no real 
states of his conscious self within him, no genuine experi- 
ences of being in Italy. That would be going on the as- 
sumption that nothing but the material Italy can induce 
such states of consciousness. That is illogical and has 
been disproved by experience. Men are finding that these 
marvelous representations are capable, when used with the 
proper helps, of prompting a genuine experience of being 
in the place represented. Unquestionably, we can, with 
the help of maps, obtain in the stereoscope a clear, definite 
consciousness of location in the place there shown. It 
necessarily follows that we must then be pervaded with a 
state of emotion appropriate to the place, differing in 
quantity, but not in kind, from that felt by the traveller. 
We do " feel," as Dr. Hervey says, " that we are looking 
right at the place itself." 

But it is important for us to know that generally peo- 
ple who have passed through such an experience in the 
stereoscope do not recognize it. Here is a case that ex- 
actly illustrates what I mean. I was talking with a man 
who had just returned from Venice. Before going he had 
prepared himself very carefully, he said, for his visit. 
Among other things, he made a study of some stereoscopic 
photographs of Venice. By the help of maps, he had 
found the points from which he was looking in the several 
stereographs and the location of those parts of Venice 



A FIRST WORD. XXV11 

which were represented before him, and then he gave him- 
self to a thoughtful and sympathetic contemplation of 
what he saw. Finally he reached Venice. He left the 
train eagerly and expectantly. But, as he told me, he was 
soon surprised and disappointed in that he seemed to have 
no new experience, no new taste of feeling. It seemed as 
though he was returning to places he had visited before. 
As he thought it over, his mind went back to the time 
when he saw the stereographs. He recognized that he 
had gained from them not only wonderfully accurate ideas 
of the appearance of many places in Venice, but distinct 
experiences of location in Venice, experiences which had 
brought with them part of the very same feelings that 
came to him on the ground in Venice. He experienced 
more emotion when in the place itself, but he recognized 
it was more of the same kind that had come to him while 
shut in with the stereographs at home. 

Thousands have made this same mistake. Though they 
have gained from stereographs the genuine experience of 
the traveller, still they have gone on longing for an actual 
visit with the idea that it would mean something entirely 
different from anything they had yet known. It is only 
natural, though, for us to make such mistakes about our 
inner experiences. Says one psychologist : " Facts of 
consciousness may be just now observed, though they 
have been experienced millions of times." At first 
thought, many would be inclined to say that they know 
what had been their experiences while using the stereo- 
scope, but only the most careful thinking could make them 
really sure after all. 

So we cannot say too strongly, we cannot see too clearly, 
that in the stereoscope we are dealing zvith realities, but 
they are the realities of mental states, not the realities of 
outward physical things. The object or place represented 
does not actually exist in space before the person, but the 



XXVlii ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

person's state of consciousness, made up of thoughts, emo- 
tions, desires, does exist in reality and will ever have its 
influence as such in his mental, moral life. 

The more we consider stereographs, therefore, the more 
clear it becomes that their main purpose is not simply to 
communicate information as to the appearance of places, 
but to do this in such manner that the information or 
visual impressions conveyed may be the means or occasion 
of a vigorous and varied exertion of the faculties of the 
person looking, of inciting in him certain states of mind 
with relation to the place itself, rather than the picture. 
Evidently, if this sort of experience can be obtained from 
stereographs, we should be satisfied with nothing less. 

HOW TO USE STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS, HELPS NEEDED, 
MAPS, BOOKS, ETC. 

But this means entirely different methods of using 
stereographs. For as soon as we take up the stereograph 
with the idea of gaining an experience of location in the 
place represented, we find, unless we have already visited 
the place, we need much in addition to the stereograph 
itself. Accordingly careful attention is being given to the 
question of what is required to enable people to gain the 
fullest, richest experiences from stereographs, experiences 
nearest to those of the traveller. Primarily, it is found 
that we must treat the stereograph as we treat the place. 
This means, first, exact knowledge of where on the earth's 
surface the place which we see in the stereoscope is 
located, and of our relation to this place with regard to the 
points of the compass. To give people this knowledge in 
connection with stereographs, a new patent map system 
has been devised. (See booklet of maps at the end of this 
volume.) On these maps we find indicated the point from 
which each scene is photographed, and by two red lines 



A FIRST WORD. XXIX 

which diverge from each point the territory included in 
each particular stereograph is shown. Thus a person 
looking at a scene in the stereoscope is enabled to know 
precisely where on the earth's surface he is standing, over 
precisely what part of the earth he is looking, and hence 
he can know also from the maps what his surroundings 
must be. This knowledge is of absolutely first importance 
if we wish to gain the experiences in the stereoscope we 
have been talking about. We certainly could not expect 
to gain a definite sense or consciousness of location in any 
place, and of our surroundings there, unless we know 
where that place is. It is easily seen that without such 
maps all series of photographs or illustrations that have 
been or can be published must show a country or city to 
our minds in disconnected, unrelated fragments. It is 
utterly impossible for a person, not already familiar with 
the ground by an actual visit, to get from such unrelated 
sections an experience in any part of the country such as 
the traveller gets. The mind cannot place such discon- 
nected sections in their proper relation to each other or the 
world. Such a map system as the above is, then, abso- 
lutely necessary if we are to treat stereoscopic photo- 
graphs as we treat the place itself. 

Again, if we are to obtain an experience from the stereo- 
graph as from the place, we must obtain the same knowl- 
edge of the ditterent buildings and objects shown in the 
stereograph, of what they stand for, their history, etc., 
that we would get on the ground. 

Accordingly, books are being issued in connection with 
the stereographs of a city or country. In these books the 
author or guide takes up the stereoscopic scenes in order 
and calls attention to the objects of interest in each one, 
and gives some of the history connected with it. Of 
course, it is as impossible to give all the history associated 
with these places as it would be for the traveller to go over 



XXX ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

it all on his visit. Ten thousand books could not exhaust 
the past in a place like Rome. But the plan is to call 
attention to all that is especially important in each scene 
and give something of its past, as would be done if talking 
to a party of tourists on the spot. After such familiar 
acquaintances with these historic sites and buildings, it 
will require a lifetime to follow up all the lines of interest 
that are started within us. 

Work along this line should be recognized as work on 
what is practically a new problem. Many books have been 
written to aid the tourist in his walks in the actual Rome. 
Probably the question of how to get the most out of an 
actual visit to Rome is pretty well solved. But the ques- 
tion of how to get the most out of Rome as it can be seen 
through the stereoscope has never been solved. In fact, 
in the past, because of the fragmentary and unrelated 
character of photographs, it has been impossible to make 
them the foundation of any systematic and intelligent 
study of a city or country. With the invention of this new 
map system it has been made possible for the first time to 
gain information of distant places in as intelligent and 
systematic a way as by actual travel. The opportunities 
now opened up in this field are hardly dreamed of as yet. 

But there are definite limitations which make it wise 
to follow a different course in studying a place through the 
stereoscope than the tourist would on his actual visit. For 
instance, a guide book for a tourist is written on the as- 
sumption that he will move from one object to another as 
he views them. The series of stereographs upon a certain 
city like Rome, however, must be limited. A person is 
able to stand in forty-six definite places in Rome, no more, 
no less. Obviously, under these conditions, it is wise to 
remain for a much longer time than the tourist would in 
each one of these definite positions, in order that we may 



A FIRST WORD. XXXI 

take note of as many objects of interest as possible from 
a single standpoint. 

The whole aim of these maps and books, then, is to 
make an intelligent " visit " to distant places through the 
stereoscope possible, to gather and furnish information 
for use right in connection with the object in the stereo- 
scope, just as information has heretofore been gath- 
ered and furnished for the use of the tourist in connection 
with the thing itself. 

We should recognize further that, in providing maps 
which give us exact knowledge of the location of the 
places we see in the stereoscope and in furnishing his- 
torical and other information, it is evident we are doing 
for these representations no more than we should have to 
do for the places themselves when travelling. But since 
these stereographs are not the places, but only representa- 
tions of them, and since our object is to forget that they 
are representations, and to have prompted within us while 
we look at them the consciousness of the real place and 
its surroundings, we find we are helped in obtaining this 
result if we do some things in connection with the repre- 
sentations that we would not do in connection with the 
place. Generally, it can be said that we shall need to make 
some effort on our own part at first to get into the proper 
state of mind. The reason for this can be easily shown. 
Not a little of the benefit of actual travel is due to the 
stimulus that comes from being among new and strange 
scenes. We can't help but be all alive. We take the 
trouble to go here and there, to get our bearings with re- 
lation to our surroundings, to read historical notes and 
sketches, to think back into the past. But we come to a 
picture immediately from our home surroundings and 
home atmosphere. Sitting in our chair and holding a 
stereoscope are indeed commonplace, every-day activities, 
as far as our bodies are concerned. And so, though the 



XXXU ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

representation of Rome does stretch away in infinite per- 
fection before our eyes, we look at it languidly. Coming 
in an instant from our every-day life, and without the ex- 
citements of actual travel, it is impossible for the repre- 
sentation of itself at once to chain our careless and indif- 
ferent attention and force upon us the proper states of 
consciousness. In coming to a stereoscopic scene in this 
way, it should be expected that at first we would not be 
drawn with the same intense interest. We must recog- 
nize, if we are to have anything like the experiences that 
it is possible for us to have in connection with stereoscopic 
photographs, and for that matter in connection with any 
picture, that generally we must give our minds an initial 
" push " from within. If we do understand what the 
trouble is when interest lags at first, and go ahead treat- 
ing the representation as we would the place, getting our 
location from the maps, and information about objects 
before us, then we find that the attitude of mind which we 
assumed in the beginning by sheer will power continues 
of itself. 

It is to give aid at this point that the author of a book 
to accompany stereographs assumes the role of personal 
guide. According to this plan, he assumes in the case of 
each stereograph that he is standing with his fellow-trav- 
ellers in the presence of the actual scene, and calls atten- 
tion to the points of interest in these famous places in the 
first person, as he would in conversation. By this fresh 
and vivid way of putting things he can constantly suggest 
the desired state of mind. 

Noticing small details is another important means of 
securing the proper state of mind. Nothing is more effect- 
ive in fixing a person's attention, of making him entirely 
oblivious to his bodily surroundings, and giving him a 
vivid sense or consciousness of being in the very presence 
of the place itself. Often, therefore, it is wise to turn aside 



A FIRST WORD. XXX111 

to notice, blades of grass, grain in a stone, tiles, chimneys, 
a ragged coat or hat, not because of the particular impor- 
tance these details might have in themselves, but for their 
effect in directing attention and calling out the proper 
states of consciousness. So it can be said that the en- 
deavor should be to put what is written in the form of 
such u exercises " as would, if followed in the proper 
spirit, according to directions, induce the most definite 
states of consciousness, genuine experiences of location 
in those parts of the earth represented in the stereoscope. 

Finally, if it is possible for human beings to get, in con- 
nection with the stereoscopic representations of places, 
the genuine experience (differing in the quantity, but not 
in the kind of feeling), that a person would get in the 
presence of the place itself, what a far-reaching signifi- 
cance this fact has. What a liberation of our real thinking 
and feeling selves from the conditions imposed on our ma- 
terial bodies ! How many people are chained down to one 
spot of earth by the hard necessities of their lives ! How 
many people look out to the material hills which bound 
their horizon and long for the experience of standing in 
the great places of the world of which they have heard. 
But to hundreds and thousands it has always seemed that 
such longings could never be satisfied, such dreams never 
fulfilled, because there was no way of knowing these ex- 
periences excepting at the great expense of actual travel 
in body. But this is not necessary. Such people may 
know for themselves the experience of standing in those 
places. No matter if their bodies do remain in the old 
accustomed scenes, their states of consciousness may be 
in accordance with, may be dominated by, what is far be- 
yond their narrow horizon. They may learn not only ab- 
solutely final facts as to the way a distant place looks, but 
they may experience part, at least, of the very same emo- 



XXXIV ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

tions the place can stir. They may receive into their souls 
the peculiar messages which certain places in Italy can 
give. They may have the inner experience of location 
not only here and there in Italy, that most fascinating and 
instructive country, but anywhere on the earth's surface. 

Albert E. Osborne. 



THE STORY OF ROME 

The chief advantage that comes to us in seeing Rome, or any 
historical place, is the greater power it gives us to make real to 
ourselves the history that has transpired there. When the 
very hill or building where the events occurred stands out 
before us, our minds get a stimulus that enables us to think our 
way back into the past and look at people of those days as they 
lived and toiled, in the same way as we consider people of flesh 
and blood about us to-day. Therefore it has seemed best that this 
story of Roman history, which is for use with " Rome, through 
the Stereoscope," should be told right in connection with a certain 
part of the city as we are brought before it in one of these 
stereographs. Accordingly we will run the risk of repetition and 
anticipate here enough of what appears later on to give us a fairly 
good idea of our position in relation to a definite part of Rome, 
as we see it in one of these stereographs ; then we will call up the 
history by periods. 

Turn with me to the large general map of modern Rome in the 
back of this book. Spreading this map out before us we are 
able to get, in a sense, a bird's-eye view of the old city. Almost 
every street is laid out before us. We see the limits of the city 
wall which does not extend beyond the map margin at any point. 
The Tiber River flows in the form of an S from north to south 
down through the city. In the upper left hand portion of the 
map, we find St. Peter's, called there Basilica di San Pietro in 
Vaticano. In the second bend of the Tiber toward the right, or 
toward the east, as it flows from the north, is the Island of the 
Tiber. Directly east from this island, only a few inches on the 
map but really over half a mile away, we find the Roman Forum, 
Forum Romanum, with the Colosseum to the southeast, the Capi- 
toline Hill, Mons Capitolinus, to the northwest; and the Palatine 



XX XVI ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Hill, Mons Palatinus, to the south. This was the ruling centre of 
Rome, and of the world, for so many centuries. The other five 
of the " Seven Hills," Mons Quirinalis, Mons Viminalis, Mons 
Esquilinus, Mons Caelius, and the Mons Aventinus are seen 
grouped in a great half circle from north to south to the east of 
the Forum. Look now on the map a few inches to the left or west 
of the Island of the Tiber. There you find on the Janiculum Hill 
the church of S. Pietro in Montorio, and near this church the 
numbers 2 and 3 enclosed in circles, both in red. From a point in 
front of this church four lines in red are seen to branch out 
toward the right or east. Following the upper one of these four 
lines and the second one below it, we find in the margin of the 
map at the end of each the number 2 without a circle. Stereo- 
graph No. 2 of the Roman series was taken from the point at 
which these two lines start, and will show to us as much of Rome 
as the lines enclose. Evidently in this stereograph we should be 
looking over the Tiber and its Island, the Palatine and Capitoline 
Hills and the Forum. 

Let us place Stereograph No. 2, " Capitoline, Palatine and 
Caelian Hills — once the World's Centre, from the Janiculum," 
in the stereoscope and bring the stereoscope to our eyes. This 
mass of many-styled buildings is Rome. Let us try to get a 
definite sense of our location here. From the map we know we 
are standing on the Janiculum Hill on the west side of the Tiber 
River while we are looking almost directly east. From the map 
we might have supposed we should be able to see the Tiber and 
its Island very clearly, but they are hidden from our view by the 
mass of buildings before us. We can, however, locate the river 
itself. Notice that stretch of white embankment in the middle 
distance on our left, and to the left of that nearest tower. That 
is the east bank of the Tiber and the Island is only a few rods 
further down. But beyond that strip of embankment, and ranging 
from one side of our field of view to the other, are six of Rome's 
seven hills. Most people are surprised, at first, at the smallness of 
these hills, but the more we look at them, their small size makes 



THE STORY OF ROME. XXXV11 

their great importance to the world seem all the more striking. 
Let us try to locate each one in the scene before us. Far to the 
left beyond the embankment we see a blunt, burly tower jutting 
up above the sky line. That is the so-called Tower of Nero, and 
it may be said to mark, in a way, the southern extremity of the 
Quirinal Hill as well as the western extremity of the Viminal Hill. 
The Quirinal, or northernmost of the seven hills, extends from that 
point toward the north, beyond the limit of our vision, while the 
Viminal Hill lies directly away from us beyond the tower. The 
map should be consulted always to get exact locations. To the 
right, directly over the tower of the church situated between us 
and the embankment, is the Capitoline Hill. The dark foliage of 
trees shows its outline pretty well and the tower of the Capitol 
rises clearly above it. Farther to the right, practically in the 
centre of our field of vision, is another tree-covered elevation, 
directly back of a nearer tower with a pyramidal roof. That is 
the Palatine Hill, the world-renowned home of the Caesars. Just 
over the cypresses on this hill, dimly outlined against the horizon, 
we discover the massive walls of the Colosseum. Between and 
just beyond these two latter hills, the Capitoline and the Palatine, 
lies the Roman Forum, extending, from the building, the Tabu- 
larium, beneath that tower of the Capitol on the Capitoline Hill, 
off toward the right and back of the Palatine Hill in the direction 
of the Colosseum. Directly between these two hills and a little 
beyond them we can see the gigantic arches of the Basilica of 
Constantine. These arches stand on the farther side of the 
Forum. Beyond the arches of the Basilica of Constantine, cov- 
ered with buildings which make up part of the skyline, is all that 
is left of the Esquiline Hill. To the right of the Palatine Hill and 
scarcely separated from it, is another wooded mound which ex- 
tends beyond our limit of vision on the right. That is the Caelian 
Hill. Standing up on that hill, back of the dark cypresses nearer 
us, we see, dimly outlined against the sky, the great Church of St. 
John Lateran. Only one of the Seven Hills, the Aventine, 



XXXV111 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

situated a short distance further to the right, is entirely hidden 
from us here. 

But, beyond all that comes within our present range of vision, is 
the land of Italy stretching away on all sides v Off to the left and 
in front of us, beyond Nero's tower, not over twenty miles away, 
are the Sabine Mountains, the foot hills of the Apennines; not 
more than fifteen miles toward the southeast, on our right, are the 
Alban Hills, and directly on our right, only fifteen miles away, is 
the sea. Back of us, or rather more over our left shoulder, are the 
hills of Tuscany; still farther away in that direction are Florence, 
Milan and Venice; and still farther, three to four hundred miles 
away, is Switzerland, a part of the Gaul of Caesar's day. Greece, 
Asia Minor and the East, whither so many armies went from 
Italy, lie far away before us; while Carthage, toward which the 
Romans on these hills turned their thoughts in determined hatred 
for so many centuries, lies only three hundred and fifty miles to 
our right. 

We are then, as we stand here, not only in the midst of Rome, 
but in the midst of the Roman world. But no other part of all 
that world can be compared in importance with this city imme- 
diately before us. Grecian history centres in Sparta, Athens, 
Thebes, and Macedon successively. Roman history, however, is 
the story of the rise and development of this one city for hun- 
dreds of years, of the acts and achievements of the people who 
lived on these hillsides. We are looking here upon the stage of a 
theatre on which for nearly three thousand years has been played 
the most thrilling and stupendous drama of human history, and 
which, even to-day, claims the attention and consideration of all 
thoughtful men. No matter how much we may have read and 
studied Roman history in libraries and class rooms, we know it is 
profitable to review it again in the sight of these hills and amid 
these surroundings. So now let us try to go back in thought to 
the main scenes, at least, of the great drama of Roman history 
while in the presence of the very place where it was played. 

First of all it is evident that we must not think of these build- 



THE STORY OF ROME. XXXIX 

ings, upon which our eyes are now resting, as permanent struc- 
tures. They are simply the setting for the last of the great acts 
we are to think of. We are to remember continually that other 
edifices, vastly different from those we now behold, have, in other 
periods, crowned the heights which flank the skyline of this land- 
scape, and filled the plain below us which is now occupied by 
modern buildings. Other people, with different religion, govern- 
ment, customs and dress, once walked the narrow streets of this 
immortal city and lived in houses which have long since passed 
away. 

But people have lived here continuously since nearly one thou- 
sand years before Christ, and a multitude of events have followed 
each other in the long past. In the short time we can spend now 
it would be utterly impossible for us to follow these events in 
full. We shall therefore classify the events of this past in five 
great dramatic scenes, the main features of which we shall call 
up again out among these hills before us. We shall designate 
these different scenes or periods to which we have referred as 
follows : 

First Scene. 
The Kings, 753-509 B. C. 244 years. 

Second Scene. 
The Republic, 509-31 B. C. 478 years. 

Third Scene. 
The Empire, 31 B. C.-476 A. D. 507 years. 

Fourth Scene. 
The Papacy, 476-1806 A. D. 1,330 years. 

Fifth Scene. 
Rise and Consummation of United Italy. 1806 . 

First Scene. 

Rome under the Kings, 753-5°9 B. C. 244 Years. 

If we had stood here at the beginning of Rome, nearly three 
thousand years ago, probably (753 B. C), we should have seen 



Xl ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

nothing but an expanse of country whose surface was broken by a 
number of hills and traversed by the River Tiber. These hills 
were somewhat higher then than now, although they still possess 
the same general outlines as in the early days. The origin of that 
early city is veiled in mystery, but legendary tales give us glimpses 
of fact 

The story is, you remember, that when Troy, in Asia Minor, 
was destroyed by the Greeks, JEneas, the son of the Trojan king, 
Priam, escaped with his father on his back, and, finally, after much 
wandering, reached the Italian coast not far from where we stand, 
landing in Latium, a district about the lower Tiber. Here the 
Trojans lived with the natives, calling themselves and their new 
friends Latins after their King Latinus, who was followed by 
^Eneas. Ascanius, the son of ^Eneas, founded Alba Longa, the 
mother city, on the Alban Hills some twelve miles in front of us 
and to our right. The nearest neighbors, on the northwest in the 
hill country behind us and to our left, were the Etruscans, an older 
and more highly civilized people ; on the east, directly in front of 
us, were the Samnites and Sabines. In time, a Vestal Virgin, 
daughter of King Numitor, who had been expelled from his 
throne, bore to Mars, the god of war, twin sons. According to 
law, she was buried alive, and the twins were thrown into the 
Tiber, which graciously cast them ashore at the foot of the Pala- 
tine Hill, which we see just before us. Here they were cared for 
by a she-wolf until they were found by a shepherd, who took them 
home to his wife by whom they were reared. They became 
known as Romulus and Remus, and followed the occupation of 
shepherds. After restoring their grandfather, Numitor, to his 
kingdom, they determined to build a city somewhere near the spot 
where they were cast up by the Tiber. In order to decide which 
of the brothers should have the honor of founding the new city 
and by whose name it should be called, they appealed to augury. 
Romulus stood on the Palatine Hill and Remus on the Aventine, 
which is about a half a mile farther to the right than we can now 
see. Remus saw six vultures, but Romulus, not to be outwitted, 



THE STORY OF ROME. xll 

managed to espy twelve, and thus won the coveted honor. So he 
began building his city where he had taken his stand out there on 
the Palatine, first enclosing the level area on its summit by a wall. 
While it was in process of construction Remus leaped over it to 
show how easily such a feat could be accomplished by an enemy. 
Romulus resented this act by killing-Jjis brother, saying as he 
struck the fatal blow, " Thus perish all whoT leap over my wa 
The town thus started was called " Roma Quadrata " from the 
square shape of the enclosure and from the name of its founder. 
Romulus soon founded a refuge on the neighboring Capitoline 
Hill for the oppressed people and runaway slaves of the surround- 
ing country. In order to get wives for these newcomers, he held a 
public festival at the foot of the Palatine on the side facing us, 
and on the spot which afterwards became the Circus Maximus, 
and invited the Sabines, a tribe who had previously settled on the 
nearby Quirinal Hill, to come with their wives and witness it. 
Then Romulus and his men seized the women and carried them 
off as wives. Of course war with the Sabines followed, but 
finally peace was restored and a union of the settlements followed. 
Romulus ruled jointly with Tatius, the Sabine, and both com- 
munities met for business and worship in that valley in which we 
see the arches of the Bascilica of Constantine, the Roman Forum, 
as it was afterwards called. Romulus became king of both tribes 
and when, at length, he died, he was carried to heaven in the 
chariot of his father Mars. So much for the legend. 

What really did take place in this period seems to be that the 
Latins, whose chief city was Alba Longa, established a settlement 
on the Palatine as a fortified outpost against the Etruscans, who 
were the greatest people in the peninsula at that time. Then 
Rome was only a small cluster of huts on the Palatine hilltop with 
a low wall of volcanic stone surrounding them, but as the town 
increased in population, other hills were added and the wall was 
extended around them also, until finally by the close of the seventh 
century B. C. all these seven hills were enclosed by a wall five 



xlii ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

miles in extent. So Rome came to be called " The City of the 
Seven Hills-." 

The time when men first came to build a town here has been 
generally given as 753 B. C, and recent investigations indicate 
that it took place in the early part of the eighth century B. C. 
According to the story, after the founder, Romulus, came the good 
king, Numa Pompilius, who instructed the people in morals and 
religion. He was followed by war-like kings. It was at this time 
that Rome's great struggles began. The Temple of Janus, built 
by Numa on the Capitoline Hill, whose gates were to be closed in 
time of peace and opened in time of war, remained open, except 
for a brief period, from this time on through all the time of the 
Kings and the Republic, from the death of Numa Pompilius 
down to the reign of the Emperor Augustus. The people at first 
were given to agriculture and the raising of herds. But gradually 
the town changed and was no longer a mere agricultural centre 
and border fortress, but became of commercial importance as well. 
The last of the Kings was Lucius Tarquinius, called " Superbus," 
the Proud, on account of his tyrannical disposition. When the 
people could endure him no longer they rose up and drove him out 
with his whole family, vowing that they would have no more 
kings ; this was in 509 B. C. At that time the city probably did 
not possess more than a small strip of land along the Tiber reach- 
ing down to the sea. She had conquered Alba Longa, and so her 
influence reached somewhat beyond her boundaries, but she had 
only taken the first steps toward getting the mastery of the adja- 
cent tribes. 

It was in this early period, during the reign of one of the 
Tarquins, that the Circus Maximus was erected between the Pala- 
tine and Aventine Hills and the Forum was drained by means of 
the great sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, which is still in use to-day. 

The government in this early community under the Kings was 
very simple. A number of families, each of which was ruled by 
its father, composed the political state. These families were un- 
doubtedly descended from the first settlers and were known as 



THE STORY OF ROME. xliii 

patricians. Side by side with these there existed the dependents, 
termed plebs or plebeians, the commons who formed the sec- 
ond Roman order. As the city grew, other residents came here, 
some for commercial advantages, some for safety, some because 
their own cities had been conquered by Rome. These newcomers 
were given no place in the old families, and therefore no part in 
the government, for they were classed with the plebeians. While 
these two classes lived side by side there was an absolute gulf be- 
tween them in all social and political matters. Any intermarriage 
was illegal and the plebeians had no political rights whatsoever. 
The patricians, or citizen body, met in an assembly called the 
Comitia Curiata, but the real business of the State was carried on 
by the Senate, made up of the elders of the patricians, who num- 
bered at the close of the regal period one hundred and thirty- 
six members. The leader of the patricians was the King who was 
at the head of the State religion, the commander of the army and 
absolute in his power in every way excepting that he could not 
hand down his authority to another. He held office for life, but 
the people chose his successor and the senate approved of the 
selection. These patricians not only held jealously all their politi- 
cal rights, but by insolence and arrogance in every way made the 
lot of the plebeians a hard one. So it followed, you remember, 
that the main feature of the internal affairs of the city for cen- 
turies was the struggle on the part of the plebeians for equal 
rights in political and social matters. 

But what about the religious life of the people here jn Rome in 
that earliest period? We can never understand the history of 
these people unless we come into touch with them in their re- 
ligious life and thought, and thus reach the deepest and most 
fundamental part of their being. Of course, we readily understand 
in a general way that they did not think of God or worship Him 
as we do. As the men and women and children of this city rose 
each morning in those early days and looked out on the world, the 
mountains, the fields, and the river, they always thought of many 
gods existing about them. The ancestors of these Romans, like 



Xliv ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

those of the Greeks of similar origin, had in early days conceived 
of the idea of Deity from nature herself. They seemed to gain 
this idea of Deity from the wide expanse of the heavens, in 
which they believed they saw the abode and to a certain extent the 
form of the great power that ruled the world. They conceived of 
heaven as the father and of earth as the mother of being. This 
symbolic recognition of the objects of nature and even of acts in 
human life gave the Greeks and Romans their world of gods, 
some of which they may have had in common before they sepa- 
rated, as for example Zeus or Diovispater (Jupiter), the light 
distributing god of the heavens. 

Among other deities the Romans had Vesta, the goddess of the 
hearth and home, the very centre and embodiment of their family 
religion. Mars, the god of creative power, was regarded as the 
father of the people, and it was but natural that they should dedi- 
cate to him the first month of the Italian springtime (March) and 
offer to him the first fruits of the earth. He was the god of agri- 
culture and, finally, through association with the Greek Ares, the 
god of war. Then we hear of Hercules, the god of the homestead, 
whose name came from the Greek Heracles, and whose attributes 
as an Italian god made him the god of business agreements like 
the Latin Deus Fidius. 

They also believed in Juno, the type of queenly womanhood; 
in Minerva, the embodiment of wisdom; in the two-faced Janus, 
the god of opening and shutting, the sun-god, who brings the 
opening day and whose departure shuts up the world in darkness; 
and in his sister Diana, the moon-goddess and queen of the night. 
Besides these, the Romans, during this period of the Kings, wor- 
shiped many other deities. 

The explanation of this remarkable multiplication of gods lies 
in the tendency of the Romans to see a special influence in every- 
thing in nature and human life. So all things in the sky over his 
head and in the earth beneath his feet, he worshiped as being 
manifestations of innumerable gods; and every action in life, from 
the most important down to the most insignificant, had its own 



THE STORY OF ROME. xlv 

protecting spirit. There was Vagitanus, who prompted the child's 
first cry, and Fabulinus, who taught him his earliest speech. 
There was Edusa, who taught him to eat, and Potina, who taught 
him to drink ; Abeona or Adeona, through whose help he learned 
to walk; Iterduca, with whom he left the house, and Domiduca, 
who led him home. 

Another great difference between their religion and our own 
rests in the fact that they had little notion that what the gods re- 
quired was always right. Morality was not associated with re- 
ligion in their minds. Religion was a contract between gods and 
men for certain earthly blessings which were given in return for 
certain sacrifices and honors and in carrying out this contract it 
was the letter and not the spirit that was regarded. For example, 
if a man offered wine to Jupiter and did not state very plainly 
that it was the cupful held in his hand that he gave, the god might 
claim the entire vintage of the year. On the other hand, if a man 
vowed to sacrifice so many heads to the gods, by the letter of the 
agreement, he might pay in lettuce heads or heads made out of 
wax or dough. But in this early religion there was, however, 
nothing gloomy or forbidding; it was a bright, business-like 
affair, so much for so much, and when the bargain was explicit 
the payment was always rendered gladly. 

As we stand here looking over these hills we are to remember 
also that these people had a different form of worship from our 
own. They did not go to church as we do, indeed they had no 
churches which they could attend. Their temples or houses of 
worship were built simply to hold an image of the god to whom 
it was dedicated, and the priests who offered sacrifices before it. 
When these temples were first erected out there on the Palatine 
and Capitoline Hills and in the Roman Forum, they were small 
and crude affairs, but subsequently they were adorned with all the 
embellishments of the highest art. 

Now what about the dwellings of the people in the first period? 
Of course there were no structures of any kind on the level space 
between us and the river, but across the river on the hilltops lay 



xlvi ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the city of those early days ; and if we had viewed that city from 
our present position, we should have seen no massive walls or 
lofty towers, but simply a collection of low buildings, hut-like and 
uninviting. They differed from our modern houses in that they 
consisted of but one room, which resembled in some respects the 
wigwam of the American Indian, for this room had an opening in 
the centre of its roof through which the smoke escaped as it rose 
from the fire, which was always built in the middle of the earthen 
floor. As might well be imagined, the interior of this room was 
cheerless and repelling, the floor being strewn with ashes, and the 
walls black and sooty. This chamber was appropriately called the 
atrium, from ater, black. Afterwards other" rooms were added, 
bed-rooms and store-rooms, but the atrium still remained the 
living room of the dwelling. 

Associated with Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, were the 
other household divinities, the Lares and the Penates. The for- 
mer, representing the spirits of dead ancestors who were thought to 
be very near when the dead were buried in the dwelling, were the 
kindly guardians of the members of the family. The latter, the 
Penates (penus — provisions), were the spirits providing the bread 
and food for the family. On certain occasions honors were paid 
to these deities of the home, the head of the family acting in the 
capacity of priest. When a family died out, leaving no descend- 
ants to pay these honors, the neglected spirits became evil, mis- 
chievous ghosts, larvae. Therefore, it was imperative that every 
Roman of good family should marry. Marriage was a religious 
act, a sacred institution, because it admitted a stranger into par- 
ticipation in the family sacrifices. 

Then, if we should have gone into one of these early Roman 
homes, we would have found their family life different from 
what we know to-day, in another important particular, namely, 
in the absolute power which the father wielded over the members 
of his own household. Under the full form of marriage when a 
son took a wife, he brought her under his father's control if he 
was still a member of his father's family, and all their children 



THE STORY OF ROME. xlvil 

were included in the same arrangement. The daughter when 
married might still remain under her father's control, but under 
the full bond of marriage became free from her father and passed 
into the membership of her husband's family. The relatives thus 
acquired and her own children were not considered as related to 
her father's family. This condition of things virtually made every 
member of a family here a slave to the father of the family. He 
could sell or kill them and all they had was his. The state was 
conducted upon the same principle — that of a large family of 
which the King was the head. 

Differing then, so widely from us in their religion, dwellings, 
and family life, it would be but natural that their dress should 
differ also. We should not expect the men to wear coats and trou- 
sers. Asa matter of fact, we know that the men in this place in those 
old days wore but two principal garments, one for the home and 
the other for the street, except that in cold weather, one or more 
under-garments might be added. The house garment was called 
the tunica, and was made of coarse woolen cloth in the form of 
a shirt, which was drawn over the head and bound with a girdle. 
At first it had no sleeves, but these were added later. This house 
garment was adorned with the wearer's badge of rank, broad 
purple stripes down the front indicating senatorial rank and two 
narrower stripes, equestrian. The street garment was called the 
toga, and consisted of an oblong piece of cloth, in length three 
times the height of wearer but of a width varying according to the 
fashion and quality of cloth. When it was put on it was folded 
lengthwise, but not quite in the middle of the cloth. One end 
was then cast over the left shoulder, falling in front as low as the 
feet, while the other end was drawn over the back below the right 
arm, and thrown back again over the left shoulder. In this way 
the whole person was enveloped and the right arm could be either 
covered or left free at pleasure. The folds of the toga were ar- 
ranged with great care, so as to cover the right side as com- 
pletely as possible and to hang gracefully in the form of a pouch, 
sinus, across the breast. This sinus answered the purposes of a 



Xlviii ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

pocket. The whole arrangement presented an imposing appear- 
ance, and gave a touch of dignity and grace to the form of the 
wearer. 

The dress of the women was much the same as that of the men, 
only it was called by different names. As dressed for the house, 
they usually wore two garments resembling tunics, one the tunica 
intitna, reaching to the knees, the other the stola, reaching to the 
feet. As a street costume they wore the palla, corresponding to 
the toga. The Romans used both sandals, solece, and shoes, 
calcei, the former for domestic use, i. e., in the house, the latter 
for general use in public life. 

Now by way of vivifying this first great historical scene, and 
bringing it clearly to our minds, let us try to recreate its essential 
features out there in the landscape before us. 

First the founding of the city on the Palatine, when a handful 
of shepherds' huts were built there; then the union of the Pala- 
tine and other hill settlements ; then the growth and conquests of 
this united city; then the erection of the dwellings of the people 
and the temples of the gods ; then their religious life, which cen- 
tred about these temples; and finally, their peculiar dress in 
which they discharged the duties of their stern and earnest lives. 
I cannot doubt that, as this ancient people and their institutions 
and customs gather shape and substance out there on the hills be- 
yond the Tiber, we can realize, as we never have before and never 
can elsewhere, how near and real and full of vitalizing energy is 
this first period of that old Roman life, whose influence over men 
can never altogether pass away. 

Second Scene. 

The Republic, 509-31 B. C. 478 years. 

Now let us observe a new scene which, like a dissolving view, 
takes the place of the old. It represents the second period in the 
life of Rome, that of the Republic. This scene is grander in its 



THE STORY OF ROME. xlix 

setting, more tragic in its character, and more majestic because 
of the greater number of actors engaged and the far-reaching con- 
sequences of their acts. When the kings were driven out, the 
senators meeting out there on the Capitoline Hill arranged for 
two magistrates, termed Consuls, whose term of office was for one 
year and who were elected by the assembly of the people. 

In times of great crises in the national history, one of the Con- 
suls nominated a Dictator, who ruled for six months with absolute 
power. The Consuls were the chief magistrates of these people 
in ordinary times, whose duty it was to preside over the Senate 
and lead the Roman armies in battle. So, with these great 
changes in government the city started out as a Republic in the 
second epoch of its existence. 

For the first two hundred years the principal feature of the 
city's life was the bitter struggle of the plebeians against the 
patricians and the gradual rise of the plebeians. It was not merely 
the lust of power and the insolence of pride that induced the 
patricians to so stubbornly refuse to allow the plebeians a share in 
the government. The plebeians did not belong to the old families, 
and hence they had no family standing at all in the eyes of the 
ruling class. If the religion believed in here forbade one, not a 
member of the family, to participate in the family rights and cere- 
monies, much more did it forbid an alien to share in the control 
of the State, which was simply a collection of these families, since 
here no official business was transacted without an appeal to the 
gods, and all public functions were religious. At last, however, 
the plebeians struggled so hard that in order to save the State a 
compromise was made. 

Though not admitted at once to any of the existing offices, the 
plebeians were given magistrates of their own — Tribunes of the 
People — whose number was first two and later ten. These officers 
could champion the rights of the plebeians in all places except the 
army. They could veto the acts of all the magistrates and were 
legally free from all prosecution themselves while holding office. 
In this compromise between the two orders the plebeians gradually 



1 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

acquired the right to hold the various magistracies and thus be- 
came members of the Senate, which was composed of ex-magis- 
trates of high rank. The Comitia Centuriata, an assembly of the 
people, arranged originally on a military classification, according 
to property qualifications, was open to both orders. The Comitia 
Tributa, or Assembly of the Tribes, was composed of plebeians 
only, and gradually acquired power until it became equal to the 
Comitia Centuriata. It was in this assembly that the Tribunes 
were elected. It was permitted to hold its meetings in the Roman 
Forum while the Comitia Centuriata had to meet outside the city 
walls, generally on the broad plain beyond the range of our vision 
to the left, the Campus Martius. Besides the officers already al- 
luded to, they had Censors, two patrician magistrates chosen by 
the Comitia Centuriata every five years for a term of eighteen 
months to make a census of the people and of their property and 
to draw up registers of the citizens. Furthermore, they had the 
power of punishing a bad citizen by assigning him to a lower class 
or by taking away his suffrage altogether. Then there were the 
JEdiles, who had charge of the police, streets, public buildings, 
public charities and games; the Quaestors, who kept the public 
accounts, collected the taxes and paid officials. After the time of 
the Kings the supervision of the State religion passed to the 
Pontifex Maximus, who was elected by the College of Pontiffs to 
preside over their body. All of these officers were often re- 
elected, except the Pontifex Maximus, who held office for life. 

The long struggle between the patricians and the plebeians which 
resulted in this form of government was very remarkable, for, 
although both classes lived in the city before us and had constant 
intercourse with each other, yet there was little of riot or blood- 
shed. For the most part each side kept its temper, and sought by 
peaceful agitation to establish the condition of things they most 
desired. 

It seems that while these internal difficulties were going on, the 
city's struggle for the control of Italy was greatly retarded. 
Nevertheless the patricians and plebeians fought side by side 



THE STORY OF ROME. H 

against their common enemies and were successful in conquering 
the neighboring peoples, and finally the whole of Italy. In ac- 
complishing this end, however, Rome had to fight a war with 
Pyrrhus, who had come to help the Tarentines, a people of south- 
ern Italy, in their fight against Rome. At first the armies sent 
from here against this new foe were defeated, hut finally they con- 
quered, and there was great joy in this city, because all Italy was 
in submission. 

Eight years later, these people of Republican Rome set out to 
take Sicily, a large island about two hundred and fifty miles from 
here, lying close to the southern extremity of Italy and between 
it and Africa. There they encountered the Carthaginians, and 
the three great Punic wars followed. This we remember was 
the beginning of the Roman struggle for foreign conquest 
The famous generals, Hamilcar and his two sons, Hasdrubal and 
Hannibal the Great, arose to carry on these first foreign wars 
against Rome. The war between the Romans and Hannibal was 
one of the greatest the world has ever seen. The result of these 
wars was to make the people of Rome a great naval power and 
give them dominion over Sicily, Spain and Carthage. 

When Hannibal had been conquered, these proud old Romans 
felt that Philip, King of Macedonia, was becoming too powerful, 
and therefore, when Athens asked for help against him, they 
gladly responded, and started their soldiers from here for a series 
of wars in which they conquered the Kings of Macedonia and 
Syria, depriving them of Greece and Asia Minor. Hence the 
Republic, besides ruling over all of Italy, now counted among her 
possessions Macedonia, Greece, Asia Minor, Spain and Africa, in 
a word, all the civilized countries of the world, for the only people 
who at this time lived in cities and made and obeyed laws were 
grouped about this great inland sea. From this time (133 B. C.) 
Rome, when she went to war, had to fight against uncivilized 
tribes, and in doing so became a great civilizing power, giving the 
people she conquered her laws and institutions. This is why the 



Hi ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

history of the nations of northern Europe begins with the account 
of their conquest by Rome. 

The remaining years of this Republican period, 133-31 B. C, 
were mainly years of civil discord and strife. The people did not 
show themselves able to endure the strain of such a great increase 
of wealth and such vast responsibilities. Many evil influences had 
been introduced into the old sober life of the city. The Senate 
had become corrupt, a great body of the citizens had become im- 
poverished by a smaller rich class, and then a very large number 
of people not admitted to citizenship were struggling for recog- 
nition. Different reformers now arose here, such as the Gracchi 
and Sulla, but they all failed to create any stable government. 
As long as the leaders and the mass of the people were frugal, 
energetic and patriotic, the Republic was able to extend its power, 
but with a general decay in morals and the weakening force of a 
great slave system, everything was ready for a powerful man, a 
general and statesman, to sweep away the old Republican govern- 
ment and make himself monarch of the Roman world. This sev- 
eral men tried to do, but Caesar alone was successful. 

If we could have stood here in the time of those wide-sweeping 
and magnificent conquests of the Republic, we should have seen 
the character of the conquerors, the Romans themselves, 
undergoing a radical change. Their leading men were no longer 
farmers who left the plow in the fields about the city to deliberate 
in the Senate, or to give battle for their country, and then re- 
turned again to their fields and flocks, but they were men of vast 
wealth enriched by the spoils of war, and profound statesmen and 
great generals who had been produced by the demands made upon 
the people when conquering and governing. Then the character 
of these people, being accustomed to the brutalities of war, became 
more stern and cruel, and this severity was naturally directed 
towards the vast hordes of captives taken in war and held as 
slaves, and it even extended to the inhabitants of the provinces. 
On the other hand, the culture that began to make its appearance 
here in this period of the Republic was also the result of these 



THE STORY OF ROME. lill 

wars, for, in conquering Greece, the Romans saw for the first time 
the splendor and possibilities of the noblest art and felt the charm 
of Greek philosophy. Moreover, they brought back with them 
art treasures to adorn this Capital, and they brought here also as 
slaves the most intelligent and most clever of the Greek nation, 
who became their teachers in many things besides art. 

It was under this instruction at this time, we are to remember, 
that the Romans began to degenerate in their religious thought 
and life. They began to think less of their own gods and to place 
alongside of them and even above many of them, the gods of the 
Greeks, such as Dionysus or Bacchus, the god of wine, and, as 
often occurs in such a flood of new ideas, the people at large 
seemed oblivious to the highest and purest elements of the new 
civilization and absorbed the worst, the very dregs of Greek 
philosophy; even the best and most cultured Romans under the 
influence of Hellenic teaching, became imbued with philosophic 
doubt and pronounced skepticism. Yet this higher class realized 
that religion was necessary for the life of the State, so they went 
on to embellish their temples all the more elaborately with the 
spoils of Greek art until, instead of the homely and simple struc- 
tures of early days, these edifices became rich in their splendor 
and bewildering in the variety and elegance of their ornamenta- 
tion. Along with this architectural transition from simplicity to 
grandeur they increased the gorgeousness of their religious cere- 
monies, a change that very generally goes with declining faith. 
Religion became to a great extent the tool of the State, patronized 
simply for political purposes. 

A beneficial effect of the marvellous expansion of this city dur- 
ing the time of the Republic is found in the fact that a system 
of education was introduced here; for they had teachers in 
abundance, but most of them were Greek slaves. Boys in those 
times attended three grades of schools, the Elementary school and 
those of the Grammarians and the Rhetoricians. Primary educa- 
tion was given at home or in an elementary school. The Gram- 
marians had charge of the secondary education, and their school- 



Hv ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

rooms were small and unpretentious. In these dingy and stuffy 
rooms they taught what were considered the rudiments of edu- 
cation. Their lot was a hard one, for it was their duty to teach 
from sunrise, the time of the opening of the school, until near 
sunset, when it closed. And, without doubt, the life of a Roman 
school boy was arduous, for he had to start for school before light 
and buy his meager breakfast and eat it on the way. The streets 
were not lighted, the advantages of lighting the streets of the city 
never having occurred to the Romans, even in the period of their 
greatest glory. Julius Caesar, returning from a great banquet one 
night, found it necessary to light his way home attended by four 
elephants, from each of which hung forty lights. School boys 
carried little terra cotta lamps with wicks, which they used in the 
school room, so that the smoke soiled the various articles in the 
room. The instruction in these schools of the grammaticus was 
entirely of a literary and grammatical character. 

The higher schools founded here during the Republican period 
and presided over by the Rhetoricians had as their chief subject, 
eloquence, considered in its broadest sense. Oratory was a sort 
of natural gift in this city and it flourished here long before Greek 
influence made itself felt. So important was the possession of 
this faculty that a man lacking it could hardly occupy a great 
office. The Rhetoricians claimed a great advantage over the 
Grammarians, in that they were not tied down to a class-room, 
but could teach their scholars everywhere, beneath the open sky or 
the bending branches of a sequestered grove or in the marble 
peristyle of the bath or on the shady steps of a temple in the 
Roman Forum. His was the wide outlook, the free, limitless air 
of heaven, and his subject, eloquence, was considered the best gift 
of the gods. 

One of the most important results of the world-conquering 
march of the Romans in this period, you remember, was that the 
armies became larger, and since they were the source of the 
wealth and glory of the State, the generals who commanded them 
were the most powerful of all the citizens, whom even the govern- 



THE STORY OF ROME. lv 

ment itself did not dare finally to oppose. Thus it came to pass 
that the man who controlled the army directed the State. In 70 
B. C, Pompey and Crassus, successful soldiers, became Consuls, 
and subsequently a coalition was formed between Caesar, Pompey 
and Crassus, the two latter becoming Consuls in 55 B. C, and 
Caesar taking Gaul as his province. Caesar had now the oppor- 
tunity of showing the people that he was a great general and also 
of training up a formidable army, which should be loyal to him 
and do his bidding. In the closing and troublous days of the Re- 
public he set out from here on these campaigns, which extended 
as far north as Britain, and as far east as Egypt. His story of 
these campaigns reads like the romance of all the ages. In 49 
B. C, ten years after he started away, Pompey, who had been the 
power here, and the Senate, passed laws hostile to Caesar, and 
ordered him to disband the army. Caesar's reply was to cross the 
Rubicon, the northern boundary of the Republic, one hundred and 
fifty miles on our left, at the head of his troops and to march upon 
Rome. Pompey and the Senate fled to Greece, leaving Caesar the 
master of the situation, and the day he entered the city with his 
soldiers the Roman Republic came to an end. 

What, then, were the essential features of the second great 
scene in this drama of Roman history as it was played out there 
on that spacious stage before us? Why, first, the battle of the 
classes, which resulted in establishing on those hills and in the 
region round about here, a Republic not only in name but in fact. 
Then the acquisition of vast outlying territories, not only of the 
Italian peninsula but also all the civilized countries around the 
Mediterranean Sea, and the Barbarian territory to the north as 
far as Britain. With these conquests there came the adornment 
of the temples and the enlargement and beautifying of people's 
dwellings as a result of the greatly increased wealth. Many new 
ideas were gained by contact with foreign nations in war and 
from the great number of foreigners introduced into the city as 
slaves, which greatly affected the religious, educational, social and 
industrial life. Last of all, the absolute power of the army was 



lvi ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

felt, by means of whose life Julius Caesar attained the summit 
of his ambition and the Roman Republic became a thing of the 
past. 

Third Scene. 

The Roman Empire, 31 B. C-476 A. D. 507 years. 

More than seven hundred years after the opening events of the 
first scene were enacted upon this stage before us, the third scene, 
that of the Empire, began. We shall consider first the political 
features of this scene. In its beginning we see one figure 
occupying the centre of the stage — that of Julius Caesar — who, 
through rivalry and discord, through blood and strategy, finally 
became the absolute master of Rome. In 49 B. C. the Senate 
made him Dictator for life, but he wished to be made King and 
establish a dynasty here, thus turning the government from that 
of a republic into a popular monarchy. But just beyond the 
Tiber, scarcely a half mile from where we are standing, he paid 
the penalty for this ambition, when he was murdered on the 15th 
of March, 44 B. C, by a band of men among whom were Brutus 
and Cassius. The eminent historian, Mommsen, says of 
this greatest man in history, whose life centred here, " Caesar 
ruled as King of Rome for five years and a half, not half as long 
as Alexander; in the intervals of seven great campaigns, which 
allowed him to stay not more than fifteen months altogether in the 
Capital of the Empire, he regulated the destinies of the world for 
the present and future. . . . Precisely, because the building 
was an endless one, the master, as long as he lived, restlessly 
added stone to stone with the same dexterity and always the same 
elasticity, busy at his work, without ever overturning or postpon- 
ing, just as if there were for him merely a to-day and no to- 
morrow. Thus he worked and created as never did any mortal 
before or after him; and as a worker and creator he still, after 
well-nigh two thousand years, lives in the memory of the nations 
— the first, and withal unique, Imperator Caesar." 



THE STORY OF ROME. lvii 

After the murder of Caesar, there were thirteen years of con- 
fusion here. Marc Antony, the friend and deputy of Caesar, 
aroused the people to fierce hatred against his murderers. These 
in their fright left Rome, and two of them, Marcus and Decimus 
Brutus, tried to gain power in Macedonia and Cisalpine Gaul so 
as to restore the old Republican form of government. But 
Antony had determined to succeed to Caesar's place and so 
marched against Decimus Brutus in northern Italy. At this time 
young Octavianus, nineteen years old, the adopted son and heir of 
Caesar, returned to this city from Greece with his friend Agrippa. 
His ambition also was to succeed to Julius Caesar's power. 
Through the action of the Senate the second or true triumvirate 
was established in 43 B. C. and Octavianus was thus associated 
with Antony and Lepidus. Later on, Lepidus, the weakest of 
the three, was crowded aside, and Antony became careless 
through his infatuation for Cleopatra, so that finally Octavianus 
was able to make himself the supreme master. In 27 B. C. he was 
recognized as the ruler of the Roman world. He made himself 
Consul as often as he liked, Tribune for life, as well as Censor, 
and finally Pontifex Maximus ; and, having selected a large band 
of the boldest and most trusty soldiers, he formed them into a 
Praetorian Guard with barracks at the foot of the Palatine, and, 
without any opposition from the citizens, who were weary of civil 
strife, he proclaimed himself Emperor. 

The Roman world was now at peace after centuries of foreign 
and domestic wars. Only twice before had the Temple of Janus, 
which was kept open in time of war, been closed. After a great 
triumph Octavianus, now entitled Augustus, set to work with the 
help of such men as Agrippa and Maecenas, to organize a better 
system of government for the vast territories which he controlled. 
In this he was very successful, so that all outlying provinces soon 
came to look to the great city here as their Capital. He also de- 
termined to make the city worthy to be the Capital of so great an 
empire. He built over a large part of it. With a stable govern- 
ment trade was extended and wealth increased so that the people 



lviil ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

were able to beautify their own dwellings. Then he encouraged 
literary effort. During these days such men as Vergil (70-19 B. 
C.) ; Horace (65-8 B. C.) ; Ovid (45 B. C. 17 A. D.), and Livy (59 
B. C 17 A. D.), gave to the world their immortal writings. But 
the most important event of the time, which occurred in one of the 
distant provinces, passing all unnoticed here, was the birth of 
Jesus Christ. 

The emperors who followed Augustus as Emperor for nearly 
five centuries on this Capitoline and Palatine hills were, with rare 
exceptions, absolute despots. Of the forty-four emperors from 
Julius Caesar to the first division of the Empire under Diocletian 
— (from 44 B. C. to 293 A. D.) — twenty-seven were murdered, 
two committed suicide, two were killed in battle and one died a 
captive. Only twelve died natural deaths, and of these only seven 
reigned more than two years. The more fortunate periods in this 
long stretch of misrule were the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, 
Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, extending over eighty- 
two years. 

During all these years of misrule, the Roman Empire passed 
through many perilous times. As the years went on the army 
came to be the main source of power, and thus the military 
strength of the nation was demoralized. It is easy to see that 
soldiers who could make and unmake emperors and behave as 
they pleased were not such as could win glorious victories. While 
they were quarreling about which of their generals should be em- 
peror, vast tribes of Germans and Goths were attacking the fron- 
tiers on the Danube and the Rhine, and the Franks were ravag- 
ing Gaul. Then Aurelian arose and drove the barbarians back, 
giving the empire a new lease of life, and was called the " Re- 
storer of the Universe." After more disorders a great gen- 
eral and reformer appeared in Diocletian. Seeing the dangers 
into which the other emperors had fallen, he determined, if pos- 
sible, to avoid them. In order to be successful in his attempt he 
felt the necessity of doing two things : first, to defend the fron- 
tier from the barbarians ; and second, to defend the emperor from 



THE STORY OF ROME. lix 

the soldiers. The solution of both of these problems was, to him, 
the division of his honors as Augustus with another. Accord- 
ingly, he chose a brave general, Maximian, with whom he shared 
the throne, and who received the title of Augustus as well as him- 
self. Afterwards, he appointed two generals, Galerius and Con- 
stantius, who had the title Gesar, and were heirs to the rank of 
Augustus. The plan succeeded for a time, because the rulers all 
worked together and were loyal to one another. But it was not 
destined to last, for Constantine the Great, son of Constantius, 
becoming Caesar on the death of his father, defeated his rivals 
Maxentius and Licinius and made himself sole Emperor, 323 
A. D. 

Two great acts of Constantine have made his name memorable; 
one was the recognition of Christianity, the other was the removal 
of the seat of government to Constantinople in 330 A. D. We are 
now particularly concerned with this political act. Constantine 
wanted to establish an absolute despotism, and so he left the old 
Senate and the Consuls here at Rome with only the affairs of the 
city in their hands, while he ruled the whole Empire as he pleased 
from Constantinople. After his death in 337 A. D. his nephew, 
Julian, came to the throne. He attempted to revive the old 
heathen worship and so won the name of the " Apostate." 
Finally, the Emperor Theodosius, at his death, 395 A. D., divided 
the empire between his two sons, Honorius in the West and Ar- 
cadius in the East. Thus this old city of Rome had an emperor 
again. 

But this western part of the empire was now being pressed 
harder than ever by the barbarians of the north. To drive them 
back most of the western provinces, Britain, Gaul and Spain, were 
stripped of their defenders, and, as a result, these provinces were 
lost. At another attack of the Goths the Emperor Honorius with- 
drew to his fortress in Ravenna. Soon Rome was plundered by the 
Goths and later by the Vandals. Africa was lost, and thus all the 
provinces of the Western Empire were snatched away. Whatever 
political authority now remained was not centered in this city of 



lx ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Rome, but at Ravenna. We shall show in tracing the next his- 
torical period how the power of the Christian bishop began to rise 
here at Rome as the prestige of the heathen emperors declined. 
The line of the Roman emperors came to an end in 476 A. D., 
when a German chief, Odoacer, removed the boy emperor Ro- 
mulus Augustulus from the throne. This fall of the Western 
Empire is regarded as the end not only of the Empire, but of 
the history of ancient Rome. 

The Eastern Empire at Constantinople continued to exist for 
977 years longer, until it was overthrown by the Ottoman Turks 
in 1453 A. D. So much for the political features of this great 
scene of the Empire. 

During this period the material aspect of this city was remark- 
ably changed. The Palaces of the Caesars, whose ruins can be 
faintly seen on the Palatine, were built at this time. As the land 
became more valuable, in order to accommodate the great influx 
of strangers, it became necessary to build houses in the form of 
lofty flats, some of them one hundred feet high. Probably twenty- 
four out of every twenty-five houses in the city during this time 
of Rome's greatest luxury and glory were built according to this 
plan, and Augustus found it necessary to pass a law prohibiting 
the building of houses over seventy feet high. So spacious and 
magnificent were the private residences of the great Romans at 
this period, that Clodius, the Tribune, paid half a million dollars 
for one he purchased. These mansions were built of white stone 
and adorned with marble columns brought at great cost from 
Greece, and over their pillared porches, in large letters, it was 
customary to have the legend '•'Welcome"; while rich frescoes 
and gorgeous tapestries made their interior a dream of beauty 
and delight. 

Had we stood here at that time we should have seen a city 
that for splendor and extent was not equalled anywhere in the 
world, and one which in the number, richness and massiveness of 
its principal structures no modern city can approach. The cost 
of land out there about the Capitoline Hill was worth as much as 



THE STORY OF ROME. Ixi 

it would be in the choicest parts of London or New York to-day. 
Yet, as the public were entitled to but little consideration and level 
spaces were rare, the streets were narrow and crooked — at least 
until after Nero's fire, when they were greatly enlarged. This 
crowded condition of the streets was partly relieved by the great 
park situated farther to our left than we can see, the Campus 
Martius, which had been extensively beautified, first by Pompey 
and afterwards by the Emperors. 

What now of the religious features of this period? During 
this period the old religion of the Romans ceased to have any 
real influence over their lives, and the influx of paganism, which 
poured in like a flood when Rome had laid the whole world under 
tribute, destroyed whatever spark of vitality it still possessed. 
Corrupt as their religion had certainly become, that was not the 
reason for its losing its hold on the minds and hearts of the 
people. They had simply outgrown it, and it fell into decay, a 
lifeless thing, as naturally as the brown and shrivelled leaf falls 
from the swaying branch in the fury of a November storm. 

It is almost impossible for us to-day to picture to ourselves the 
confusion of the religious ideas of these people during the time 
of the Empire. As faith in the old gods waned, the great mass 
of the people turned to all the extravagances and license of th^ 
heathen creeds of the time. The more intellectual classes turned 
to philosophy, trying to find satisfaction there. 

The best minds elaborated the Stoic philosophy, out of which 
were developed such noble characters as Marcus Aurelius. The 
more sensually inclined favored the Epicurean philosophy, which 
never justified its existence by a single great name. It was during 
this time of terrible religious darkness under the Emperors that 
a new faith began to enter this nation, the " good news "of the 
Christian religion from Palestine. If not entirely unnoticed it was 
certainly not considered important for a considerable time, and 
yet no invasion from Carthage or Gaul was to mean so much to 
Rome in the end. This was not to be an invasion by well ordered 
legions from without, but it was an invasion that was to come in 



lxii ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

through the agency of many a soldier, and book and letter, and 
change the heart of the nation. It was a silent conquest that was 
in the end, to obtain political control of the land and make kings 
tremble, setting them up or deposing them at will. We cannot 
recall to mind here even the chief events connected with the 
coming of Christianity to this " Eternal City." But we remember 
that one great persecution followed another before Constantine 
gave forth his edict which granted equal rights to the Christians 
about three hundred and twenty-five years after Christ's birth. 
There was one great attempt to revive the old faiths, as we have 
said, under Julian the " Apostate " ; but after his death, in 363 B. 
C, Christianity returned to stay. A long struggle followed be- 
tween the old and new creeds, but gradually the heathen temples 
were deserted and left to decay and Christian churches rose not 
only here in Rome, but in all the cities of the Empire. During the 
Jatter part of the Empire, the Gospel was carried not alone 
through the provinces of Gaul and Britain and Spain, but also be- 
yond the nation's borders to the barbarian tribes. The Goths and 
the Germans were given the Bible and accepted Christianity be- 
fore they pushed into the Empire. In this movement, then, we 
see the preparation for the greatest change in Rome's history, the 
change from a political to a religious leadership of the world. 
This brings us to the period of the Papacy. 



Fourth Scene. 

The Papacy, 476 A. D.-1&06 A. D. 1,330 years. 

To find the beginning of the papal power we need to go back 
to the time of the Empire. The early Christians for their own 
protection formed themselves into secret societies, which were of 
the nature of independent self-governing republics, and the spirit 
of the old political life which the tyranny of the Emperors had 
crushed out, began to revive within these Christian communities. 
The dangers by which the pioneer Christians were surrounded 



THE STORY OF ROME. lxii* 

drew these congregations together for mutual encouragement and 
support, and eventually led to the election of a presiding officer or 
Bishop, who had the oversight of an entire district. So here we 
find the forerunner of the long line of popes. The institution of 
Christianity as the state religion by Constantine, and the subse- 
quent abandonment of this city for his new Capital, Constanti- 
nople, gave the Christian Bishop who remained here at the ancient 
seat of authority, a recognized position as an official of the state 
as well as of the church. Gradually, the bishop in this city tri- 
umphed over all his rivals in the Church, coming to be spoken 
of as the " Pope " (papa), and then, gradually, he began to rise 
in temporal or political power, building on the ruins of the 
Empire. 

As we have seen, for fifty-eight years after the death of Con- 
stantine, his successors ruled at Constantinople over the whole 
Empire, but when Theodosius died in 395 A. D. the Empire was 
divided between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius. Arcadius 
ruled in the East and Honorius came here to Rome to rule in the 
West. But fifteen years after the division, when the Goths under 
their King Alaric pushed their way up to the very walls of this 
old city, the Emperor Honorius showed himself a coward and 
fled to Ravenna. The Pope, Innocent V, thereupon came forward 
and acted as the representative of the city in the negotiations 
which ended in the Goth's acceptance of tribute. Again in 451, 
the remonstrance of Leo I saved Rome from Attila, the Hun, and 
his mediation four years after made more advantageous terms 
with Genseric the Vandal. Thus we can see how the Romans 
came to regard the Pope as their leader not only in religious but 
also in political matters, a conception of his position that was 
greatly strengthened when the last Emperor of this Western Em- 
pire was dethroned in 476. For some three hundred years after 
476, until the time of Charlemagne (768-814 A. D.), there was 
constant turmoil and change in all this territory formerly ruled 
by the Western Emperors. Most of the provinces set up inde- 



lxiv ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

pendent governments of their own, forming the republics and the 
monarchies of Western Europe somewhat as they exist to-day. 
Italy first itself came into the power of the East Goths under 
Theodoric, then it yielded to Belisarius, the general of Justinian, 
the Emperor of the East. Finally the Lombards came down from 
the German forests. The Pope, Stephen III, called upon the 
Frankish king Pippin for help. Pippin defeated the Lombards 
and then gave the Pope a part of Lombardy. Here we have the 
first of the States of the Church, ruled over entirely by the Pope. 
In return, Pope Leo HI, in St. Peter's Church, on Christmas Day, 
800, crowned Pippin's son, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, 
Emperor of the Romans, and Augustus. This marked the begin- 
ning of the " Holy Roman Empire," which lasted until 1806. 

After the death of Charlemagne troublous times followed which 
disturbed the fortunes of the Papacy. In 1083 Pope Hildebrand 
declared that no laymen, not even an Emperor, should have the 
power to make an ecclesiastical appointment, and because Em- 
peror Henry IV of Germany broke this rule, he was compelled by 
the Pope to plead for absolution, barefoot and clad only in a 
haircloth shirt for three cold days in January, before the Castle 
of Canosa. Afterwards Henry had his revenge by imprisoning 
the Pope, who died in exile, but eventually this struggle ended in 
favor of the Papacy. After Jerusalem was taken by the Turks, 
the Crusades, which lasted for two hundred years, brought all of 
the Christian world under the power of the Pope. Thus, under 
Innocent III (1198-1216), the Papacy became the greatest power 
in Europe. After the Crusades the Pope began to lose in the 
extent of his political power. An effort to regain the old power 
made by Boniface VIII led to the Pope's imprisonment by Em- 
peror Philip IV of France. Later the reigning Pope, Clement V, 
fled from here to Avignon, where he obtained the protection of 
France. The discontent awakened among the Italians by this ab- 
sence of the Pope led at length to an open rupture between them 
and the French party. In 1378 the faction of the church in 
France and the Italian faction here in Rome both elected a Pope, 



THE STORY OF ROME. lxV 

and thus there were two heads of the Church at the same time : 
the rivalry thus engendered greatly weakened the power of the 
Papacy. The Reformation in the sixteenth century, led by Luther, 
still further lessened the Pope's power. Finally, came the over- 
throw of both the Pope and the Princes of the various small 
states into which Italy was divided as a later result of the French 
Revolution. During this period of the Papacy there had been no 
one central government here at Rome either for this city or Italy 
as a whole. This district of the city we are looking over was 
divided into a number of distinct fortified quarters with cas- 
tellated houses and was successively governed by Guelfs (the 
Papal party) and Ghibellines (the party of the Emperors) and by 
the great Italian families of Orsini and Colonna who were their 
respective advocates. It was in the midst of all this internal war 
and bloodshed, you remember, that a republic was established here 
by Cola di Rienzi (1313-1354), though it lasted only for a short 
time. This reign of terror reduced the population of the city to less 
than twenty thousand souls. It is to these stern and sullen days of 
internecine strife that the lofty red brick towers, notably the tower 
of Nero, seen to the left of the Capitoline Hill, belong. These 
grim towers of watch and ward are silent witnesses to the fact 
that the Papacy was full heir to the spirit as well as the prestige 
of the Caesars, in reaching out for temporal power. The Em- 
perors had made a tool of religion in their government of the 
State, but now the tables have been turned and the Church was 
able to make a tool of the State. But, as we have said ; the French 
Revolution overthrew both the Pope and the Princes of Italy. In 
1796 Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed by the French Directory 
chief of the Army in Italy. He carried everything before him, 
and declared the Papacy abolished. Then in 1801 he changed his 
plans and restored Rome to Pius VII and was crowned Emperor 
by the Pope in Paris. In 1805 Napoleon was crowned King of 
Italy at Milan. The Holy Roman Empire which had existed up 
to this time, holding some territory in Italy, now came to an end 
in 1806 by die resignation of Francis II, the Austrian. We shall 



lxvi ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

consider this date as the end of the Papacy as a temporal power, 
although the Pope and the Papal States still appeared in the strug- 
gle for United Italy which we shall consider in the next and 
last scene of our historical drama. 

As is very evident from the scene before us, modern Rome is 
distinctively and overshadowingly the " City of Churches," and it 
is to this period of the Papacy, which we have just been consid- 
ering, that most of the churches which we see in the present land- 
scape belong. In the early centuries of the Christian Era the 
Christians here in Italy had to hold their worship in secret. This 
was done mainly in the Catacombs without the city. Then came 
the time when they could worship openly, but the adherents of the 
old faiths would not allow them to build churches within the city 
walls. With the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in 
the fourth century, the first great movement of Christian church 
building began. That magnificent church of St. John Lateran 
superbly located to the right in our field of vision, seen to the left 
of that tall chimney, was built by Constantine, and is the oldest 
church in the city. All these three hundred churches and more, 
s<peak forth as with a mighty voice the fact that when Rome 
ceased to be the political Capital of the old world-wide Pagan 
Empire, she became the religious head of the new Christian Em- 
pire of the world. 

Fifth Scene. 

The Rise and Consummation of United Italy. 1806 — . 
Now let us think of the fifth and last scene in the history of 
Rome. In various places in the scene spread before us there are 
portions of structures belonging to all of the preceding scenes, for 
they all contributed to making the city as we see it to-day. But, 
after all, the Rome of to-day belongs to the period of United 
Italy. We saw that Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in 1805. 
At his fall in 181 5 the Congress of Vienna divided Italy among 
the conquerors. Austrian Princes received the north of Italy 
with the exception of Genoa, which went to Victor Emmanuel, 



THE STORY OF ROME. lxvii 

King of Sardinia. Ferdinand of France obtained Naples and 
Sicily, and the Pope regained the Papal states and Rome. But 
the spirit of independence began to assert itself through the 
country. Efforts were made by the ruling princes to crush this 
ever increasing movement. In 1848 they had to make concessions 
however, and a Republic was proclaimed in 1849. The Pope was 
divested of all temporal power; then France interfered and re- 
stored the Pope. In 1859, after the defeat of the Austrians by 
French and Sardinian troops at the battle of Magenta and Sol- 
ferino, and after the treaty known as that of Villafranca or Zurich, 
Tuscany, Modena and Parma fell to Victor Emmanuel of Sar- 
dinia. In i860 the Papal States, excepting Rome, were annexed 
by Victor Emmanuel, while in the south of Italy the victories 
of Garibaldi gave Umbria and the Sicilies to Sardinia also. In 
1861, Victor Emmanuel was crowned King of Italy, and in 1870, 
when the French troops were withdrawn from Rome to fight the 
Prussians, he marched against the city, and after a bombardment 
of five hours entered its gates and established his government. 
Thus Rome became once more the political Capital of Italy. 

Two palaces were retained by the Pope, the Vatican, behind us 
to our left, and the Lateran, in front of us to the right He was 
voted also from the Imperial Treasury the sum of seven hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars a year, which, however, he has never 
accepted. From the day that Victor Emmanuel entered Rome at 
the head of his troops, the Pope has never left the Vatican, and 
from that hour, as fiercely perhaps as ever, has been waged the old 
battle between the Popes and the Emperors. But whatever our 
view of statecraft or religion may be, we should not be blind to 
the unquestioned fact that the world, in its art and culture, owes 
much to one of the greatest and most wonderful of all institutions 
on this earth, the historic and universal Roman Catholic Church, 
at whose head is the " Prisoner of the Vatican." In 1878 Victor 
Emmanuel died and was succeeded by his son, Humbert. A few 
days after, Pope Piux IX died and was succeeded by Leo XIII, 
who still rejgns over this world-wide church. King Humbert was 



lxviil ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

assassinated in 1900 and his son, Victor Emmanuel III, the pres- 
ent King, succeeded him. 

Let us keep distinctly in mind the main outlines, at least, of 
those five great scenes of Rome's long past : 

First Scene. 
The Kings, 753-509 B. C. 244 years. 

Second Scene. 
The Republic, 509-31 B. C. 478 years. 

Third Scene. 
The Empire, 31 B. C.-476 A. D. 507 years. 

Fourth Scene. 
The Papacy, 476-1806 A. D. 1,330 years. 

Fifth Scene. 
The Rise and Consummation of United Italy. 1806" — . 



ITINERARY 



HOW TO USE STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS 

(A) Experiment with the sliding rack which holds the stereo- 
graphs until you find the distance that suits the focus of your 
eyes. This distance varies greatly with different people. 

(B) Have a strong steady light on the stereograph. It is 
often best to be sitting with the back toward the window or 
lamp, letting the light fall over one shoulder on the face of the 
stereograph. 

(C) Hold the stereoscope with the hood close against the 
forehead and temples, shutting off entirely all immediate sur- 
roundings. The less you are conscious of things close about 
you, the more strong will be the feeling of actual presence in the 
scenes you are studying. 

(D) First, read the statements in regard to the location on 
the maps of a place you are about to see, so as to have already 
in mind when you look at a given view just where you are and 
what is before you. After looking on the scene for the purpose 
of getting your location and the points of the compass clear, then 
read the explanatory notes. On the maps you will find given the 
exact location of each successive standpoint (at the apex of the 
red V in each case) and the exact range of the view obtained 
from that standpoint (shown in each case by the space included 
between the spreading arms of the same V). The map system 
is admirably clear and satisfactory, and should make one feel, 
after a little, quite at home in Rome and Italy. 

(E) Do not look over the stereographs too rapidly — this is 
the greatest mistake people make in using them. Each stereo- 
graph should be studied and pondered over. Usually illustra- 
tions and photographs serve merely as an embellishment or sup- 
plement to the text or reading matter of the book or article. In 
this case that order is reversed. The stereographs form the real 
text, and all that is given in this book is intended as a supple- 
ment to the stereographs, as a help to their proper use. Dr. 
Holmes well said : " It is a mistake to suppose that one knows 
a stereoscopic picture after he has studied it a hundred times. 
There is such an amount of detail that we have the same sense 
of infinite complexity which nature gives us." By taking time 
to note some of these numberless details, we are helped as in no 
other way to feel that we are in the very presence of the places 
or people represented before us. 



ROMM. 

I know not when the desire possessed me first, but 
from my boyhood days, I longed to walk the streets 
and visit the palaces and behold the monuments of eter- 
nal Rome; and when, at length, what had been life's 
dream became a reality, my heart thrilled and trembled 
as I caught sight, for the first time, of the world-re- 
nowned Capital. 

And now again, together with you, I am to see Rome ; 
to have the old feelings of being in the very presence of 
the ancient city's streets and ruins, beneath the Italian 
sky and sun. Not only may we see Rome before us, 
solid and substantial, not only are we to get the same 
clear, accurate visual ideas, as does the person who visits 
Italy, but with our eyes shut in by the hood of the stereo- 
scope, we may have a distinct sense or experience of 
location here and there in Italy. This will mean that 
we may be thrilled with the very same emotions one 
would have were he actually on the spot. We shall not 
only see the ancient Arch of Constantine, even to the 
words inscribed upon it, but we may and should enjoy 
the very same feelings the tourist experiences after his 
journey of many thousand miles. The feelings and emo- 
tions which we may have in the presence of these marvel- 
lous representations may, and probably will, differ from 
those we might have in Italy in quantity or intensity, 



2 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

but not at all in kind. And, inasmuch as we may come 
to these representations many times and ponder over 
them as long as we choose, it is possible for us to approxi- 
mate, perhaps, to the full experience of the traveller. 

First of all we shall need to obtain a very clear sense 
or consciousness of our location in each place repre- 
sented before us by each particular stereograph. This 
means that we must know where on the earth's surface 
each place we see is located, and also our relation to this 
place with regard to the points of the compass. 

Accordingly all of us who are not very familiar with 
Italy should turn first, to the general map of Italy, 
(Map No. i), in the back of this book, and get a clear 
idea of that section of the world and the places we are 
to see in it. Especially should we notice that in about 
the centre of this peninsula on the western side, near 
the sea, is Rome. The red line which starts from that 
place, curving around through the country and over the 
sea, indicates the route along which the places we are 
about to see are located; the small rectangles in red 
mark out the territory that is shown on a larger scale on 
special sectional maps. We are to note that we go first 
in a southeasterly direction from Rome, about one hun- 
dred miles to Naples, Vesuvius and Pompeii, then north- 
west some four hundred miles to Genoa; southeast again 
sixty miles to Carrara, then twenty-five miles to Pisa, 
ten miles inland on the Arno River; then forty miles 
farther up this river to Florence, almost directly north 
of Rome. We are to go next to Milan, one hundred 



SECTIONAL MAP OF ROME. 3 

and fifty miles northwest of Florence; then about seven- 
ty-five miles to Verona; and finally, about fifty miles 
farther east to visit Venice, the Bride of the Adriatic. 

Now we are ready to turn to our large sectional map 
of Rome (Map No. 2). As soon as possible we need to 
get in mind the location of the great centres of interest 
here, not merely that we may know the position of any 
particular place, but also to be able more and more, in 
whatever particular place we may be, to know and feel the 
Rome all about us. We can see at a glance that this 
map (No. 2) just encompasses the walls of the city. 
There is scarcely a half inch between some part of the 
old Aurelian wall on every side and the map margin. 
Nearer the left hand side of the map is seen the 
Tiber winding in the form of an S down through the 
city from north to south. To the left of the Tiber, in 
the upper part of the map, we see the location of St. 
Peter's, called there Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano. 
To the right of St. Peter's on the very bank of the Tiber, 
are the triangled outlines and black centre of the Mauso- 
leum of Hadrian, or Castle of St. Angelo. A little be- 
low the centre of the map, in the Tiber River, is the Is- 
land of the Tiber, and a few inches to the right or east of 
this island, we find what was the ruling centre of the world 
for so many years — the Forum — Forum Romanum — 
with the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, and the Colos- 
seum, grouped about it. The remaining five of the 
" seven hills/' the Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian 
and Aventine, we see arranged in an outer half circle 



4 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

about the Forum from north to south. Now we are 
ready to locate our first position in Rome. Note a 
circle, with the figure I in it, both in red, a little below 
and to the right or southeast of the Island of the Tiber. 
At this place is situated the church of Santa Maria in 
Cosmedin. Notice also two red lines which start from 
this point, and spreading apart, extend toward the north- 
west. We are to stand first at the place from which 
these two lines diverge, that is in the bell tower of the 
old Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, and look out over 
that particular portion of Rome which the lines enclose. 

i. The Ancient Tiber and Its Island, from 
the Southeast. 

And this is Rome! the city of the Caesars, the home 
of the Popes, the once proud mistress of the world, the 
centre of all that is most glorious, most remarkable in 
human history, all that is most enduring in art, all that 
is most memorable and inspiring in the lives of men. 
Rome! The land which Scipio covered with imperishable 
renown and in which he is buried; which gave birth to 
the Gracchi, and still " breathes, burns with Cicero." 

Here we have another climate, another sky, almost 
another world whose historical perspective almost takes 
one's breath away. 

We are in the very presence of the old city. There, 
beyond that embankment, scarcely fifty yards from us, 
is the yellow Tiber; and just above this nearest bridge 
is the historic Island, and looming up against the horizon 



NORTHWEST FROM COSMEDIN CHURCH. 5 

some distance beyond and a little to the left of 
the Island, is the great dome of St. Peter's. Not only 
this part of Rome which we see so distinctly spread out 
before us, but all of Rome is overshadowed from almost 
every point of view by that peerless dome. It is to Rome 
what Vesuvius is to Naples, only a greater wonder for 
the hand of man hung it there. " I will place the Pan- 
theon upon the Basilica of Constantine !" cried Michel- 
angelo when he undertook the work of building St. 
Peter's, and right royally did he carry out this resolve. 
It was out there, too, below that dome, a little to the 
right, and hardly a mile and a half from us, that Michel- 
angelo went in and out for eight years while painting 
one of his great masterpieces, " The Last Judgment." 
Later on we must go to the Sistine Chapel and look at 
the picture. Further away, shouldering boldly against 
the sky, are the Tuscan Hills, and still farther away in 
that direction we know are Florence and Venice and 
Milan, and the great heart of Europe. 

But all around us here is Rome. To the right and 
back of us are the " seven hills," though we cannot see 
them now. As we may find from our map, the Roman 
Forum with its historic surroundings is less than half 
a mile beyond the range of our vision, sharp to our right ; 
then back of us is the Aventine Hill, while the Janiculum, 
an historic spot, but not one of the " seven hills," looms 
up in front of us on the left, extending from St. Peter's 
around beyond the limit of our vision. 

It will reward us now if we observe more carefully and 



6 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

systematically this particular section of Rome before us, 
for every foot of this place is historic ground, though 
of course, where there are so many things to see, one can 
indicate only a few of the more prominent. 

First we notice that there are but few people around, 
considering the fact that we are near the centre of a 
large city. We can understand the reason, for by the 
shadows we note that it is not long past noon, and this is 
a time that people here in Italy stay in doors. The 
deep, sharp shadows cast by the brilliant southern sun 
are so dense that they seem to be made of body and 
substance. If we should pass into them, when heated, 
from out the blinding glare and intensity of that almost 
tropical sunlight, we should probably be warned by the 
chill we experienced, that a possible fever might not be 
far distant. 

Right in front of us, almost beneath our feet, lies the 
unique and artistic Temple of Matuta as it is now gen- 
erally regarded, and, notwithstanding the fact that " time's 
effacing fingers " have been busy upon it for thousands 
of years, it still remains, architecturally, as delicate and 
exquisite as a conservatory flower in a marble vase. At 
one time this graceful structure was thought to be the 
Temple of Vesta, and by others the Aemilian Temple of 
Hercules, alluded to by Festus and mentioned in the tenth 
book of Livy. This temple is known to have existed in 
the time of Vespasian (69-79 A. D.), and probably dates 
from the days of Augustus. Together with the Regia, 
in the Roman Forum, it offers almost the only example 



TEMPLE OF MATUTA. 7 

of the use of solid blocks of marble in ancient Rome, 
the usual practice being, as in the case of the Pantheon, 
to face brick and stone walls with thin slabs of marble — 
a sort of veneer or stucco. In the early part of the nine- 
teenth century it was discovered that this Augustan temple 
rested on a substructure of Republican days. A circle 
of remarkable white, marble, fluted Corinthian columns, 
much time-worn and some of them badly battered, al- 
though only one of them is missing, the one nearest the 
river, surround the enclosed interior, leaving a circular 
walk between it and the pillars. The circumference of 
its peristyle is one hundred and fifty-six feet, and the 
diameter of the cella or enclosed interior, twenty-six feet, 
and the height of these surrounding Corinthian columns, 
originally twenty in number, is thirty-two feet. Roman 
temples were built small because they were only in- 
tended for the use and functions of the priesthood. Ob- 
serve that this temple has a window, in which respect 
it differs from Greek temples, which had none. The 
tiled roof is modern, the original with the entablature 
has disappeared, yet so pleasing is the effect that artists 
would be loth to have the marble roof restored. When 
new and snowlike there could have been no structure 
prettier in all Rome. When it was first dedicated as a 
Christian church, it was called the Church of St. Stefano 
delle Caraozze; it now bears the name of St. Maria del 
Sole, and it was its early use as a place of Christian 
worship that saved it from destruction. 

Take a second glance at the temple. The first time I 



8 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

saw this temple I remember to have seen a fellow stretched 
out upon one of its steps sleeping in the sunshine, and of 
all the persons lingering about the structure he might be 
considered, in the light of modern ideals in vogue here, 
the noblest Roman of them all. If it were not for 
the iron railing set between the pillars in the front 
half of the temple, the circular walk would be 
a favorite resort for stragglers. We are reminded by 
this scene that time is of no account to these people, for 
it is the one thing of which they have abundant proof on 
every hand, and, considering how vast has been the 
amount bestowed upon the city, they may be pardoned, 
perhaps, for believing that the supply is inexhaustible 
and that they can afford to give way to inertia now and 
then. Certainly one is struck by this fact, that here, at 
least, " nobody seems to have anything particular to do, 
or if he has, he is anxious to quit the doing of it when- 
ever possible." " We are bright enough and gifted 
enough," said one of them, " but, if in addition to that, 
we Romans had the industry of the Germans, we should 
need another world in which to display our talents, this 
one would not be large enough for us." 

The people living here in Rome to-day consider them- 
selves the superiors of all other Italians, glorying in an 
ancestry of which, like some others, they have but little 
proof. " I am a Roman of six generations of Romans! " 
cried a cabman proudly when he was accused of having 
charged excess fare. The low-born foreigner dared not 



ROMAN INCONGRUITIES. 9 

dispute that, and so, apologetically, dropped the matter. 

Some repairs are evidently being made on the temple, 
and, doubtless, one or two of the people standing around 
are officials, for nothing is done to any ancient structure 
in Rome without some man of learning overseeing it. 
Then take a look at that old fence and those paths on 
either side leading up the embankment. Surely you 
would not have expected to find anything quite so rustic 
right here beside an ancient classic temple. 

T.he monstrous and incongruous mingling of the 
sublime and the commonplace seems nowhere to have 
been reduced to such a fine art as here in Rome. At our 
feet, down on the left, right between the church of Santa 
Maria in Cosmedin, in whose tower we are standing, and 
the temple we have just been examining, is a stable, and 
frequently in front of it can be seen, almost hidden away 
in the deep shadows cast by the building, a number of 
carts tilted in Romanesque idleness. 

Now for a longer look at the old Tiber, hardly more 
than a stone's throw from us ! You would not conclude, 
possibly, just from looking at it, that the embankment 
on either side of the Tiber cost the Italian government 
thirty millions of dollars. It was built in 1870 for the 
purpose of preventing the inundation of the lower part of 
the city in time of floods, for this classical river has done 
considerable damage in the last three thousand years. 
It has devastated the city one hundred and thirty-three 
times and the loss of property and of life has been ap- 



IO ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

palling. Emperor after emperor tried to protect the city 
from its ravages, but all in vain. Ordinarily the depth 
of the river in the channel is twenty-six feet, but when it 
overflows its depth is greatly increased. In 1598, the 
greatest flood known in Rome, the Tiber rose sixty-two 
feet. In the most disastrous flood known in modern 
times the river rose fifty-six feet, and as recently as De- 
cember, 1900, the river rose forty-five feet, overflowing 
the embankment, and notwithstanding the vast amount of 
skill and money put into the work, flooded a large part 
of the city off to our right; the water stood six feet deep 
in the Roman Forum, and the people rowed about in 
boats in the Pantheon, and in the beautiful church of 
S. Paulo fuori le Mura, both of which we are to see later. 
The arches of two bridges were swept away, and the King 
of Italy, who had just driven over the Ponte Quattro Capi, 
(the old Pons Fabricius, the bridge seen directly over this 
temple below us), narrowly escaped being buried under a 
big landslide. 

The Tiber is older than any work of man and, judging 
from the activity it has recently displayed, it has not suf- 
fered as yet from age. Amid all the changes that have 
swept over Rome during the long centuries, this river 
and the silent mountains yonder buttressed so eternally 
against the sky, are probably the only things that remain 
practically unchanged. It was the yellow, sluggish Tiber 
when Cicero and Pompey looked upon it, though, at 
times, it was rushing enough, and it was in one of those 
mad, swirling moods when Julius Caesar swam its tawny 



INUNDATIONS OF THE TIBER. II 

flood. The Romans have a saying that it is " too large a 
stream to be harmless, and too small to be useful." From 
its source to the sea the river traverses a distance of two 
hundred and thirty-two miles. Far up in the Apennines 
it is a tiny rivulet, gay and rippling like any mountain 
brook. 

Cast another glance at the river, surely it looks insig- 
nificant enough now, but history tells of its fearful relent- 
lessness. How many lives it has remorselessly engulfed, 
not only brave defenders of the city, but countless victims 
of imperial tyranny! And what treasures of art and 
stores of untold wealth, spoils of vanquished nations, are 
buried beneath its billows that roll like molten gold in 
the bright Italian sunshine! The French once offered 
to divert it from its channel that they might dig in its 
present bed for the riches that no doubt lie buried there ; 
but the Roman authorities, fearing an epidemic of fever 
as the result of such an enterprise, would not permit 
them to undertake the work. 

The river winds so tortuously through the city that it 
seems to confront you everywhere. You catch sight of 
its waters, gleaming like a broad ribbon of yellow sand, 
from church tower and from balcony. Here and there 
the ruin of an old tower rises precipitously beside its 
waters and frequently rows of steps are seen along the 
stone facing of the embankment leading down to the 
river. You can see one such flight of steps at the right- 
hand entrance of the Ponte Quattro Capi, the bridge we 



12 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

just referred to, over the roof of the temple of Matuta, 
which spans the arm of the Tiber to our right. 

As we continue to study the landscape before us, we 
are impressed with the fact that one of its most curious 
and interesting objects is the Island of the Tiber. We 
might hardly realize that it was an island from this point 
if we had never moved around it, or if we had no map 
to help us. The time was, so the legend goes, when no 
island did exist here. The story is that when the Tar- 
quins were expelled, in 509 B. C, they left fields of corn 
on the Campus Martius, the level stretch of land off to 
the right. The Romans thought the corn was polluted, 
that it would be sacrilegious to use it, and, accordingly, 
cut down the crop and threw it into the Tiber. Part of 
it accumulated here, obstructed the soil brought down 
by the river, and thus solid land was formed. On this 
island, as time went on, the Romans built three temples, 
namely to Veiovis, Faunus, and ^Esculapius. 

The temple of ^Esculapius came to be built in this way. 
Nearly three hundred years B. C. a terrible epidemic devastated 
Rome. In the hope of stopping its ravages, messengers were sent 
to Greece who brought back here a statue of iEseulapius, the god 
of medicine. As the returning ship was sailing up the Tiber, a 
serpent, an emblem of ^sculapius, glided from it and landed 
upon that island. The Romans hailed the omen with delight, and 
built a temple on the spot, and dedicated it to this god of healing. 
Every trace of the structure has long since vanished. Medicine 
as a science was of late development in Rome; the earlier phy- 
sicians were usually Greeks, frequently slaves, and were not held 
in high esteem. 



ISLAND OF THE TIBER. 1 3 

Xhe sacred island stands out like a ship with the sharp 
point, the bow, pointed toward us. Originally, there 
were stone walls around the island which served for the 
purpose of an embankment. These walls were covered 
with marble and gave the island the appearance of a 
marble galley. All of this has long since disappeared, 
except the stern, but judging from what is left of the imi- 
tation, we should say that it was well-nigh perfect. An 
obelisk, pieces of which are now in Naples, was erected 
to represent the main mast, and thus still further carry out 
the nautical idea. 

" In the reign of Claudius, sick and aged slaves were 
exposed and left to die on this island, that emperor mak- 
ing a law that any slave thus exposed should gain his 
liberty if he recovered." In imperial times it was used 
as a prison, and what had once been a lovely garden, 
melodious with the songs of birds and musical with the 
murmur of rippling waters, became a stern and dreary 
place, dreaded by all the people; and indeed very differ- 
ent is it even now from what it was in the days of its 
glory, when, as a marble galley with snowy sides, it rose 
from out the golden river bearing fig and olive and 
orange trees, amid whose rustling leaves and luscious 
fruits, gleamed the domes of temples and the stony finger 
of the obelisk, while numerous fountains cooled the air 
as they poured forth their countless streams with all the 
flash and witchery of light. 

Look carefully at that fine old brick tower that rises 
so majestically over the roofs of the houses crowding 



14 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the sharp point of the island. That tower has great his- 
toric interest, as it is the remains of a castle built by the 
family of the Anicii to which belonged St. Gregory the 
Great. The castle was once occupied by the Countess 
Matilda, and to this place fled the two Popes, Victor III 
and Urban II, and there they lived protected by her. 

Just back of the tower you can see the famous church 
and monastery of San Bartolomeo, built about the year 
iooo by Emperor Otho III, in honor of S. Adalbert of 
Prague, who gave to the church what he claimed was 
the body of St. Bartholomew, and hence its name. The 
church is erected on the site of the ancient Temple of 
yEsculapius. 

Back of this church, on the site of the Temple of 
Faunus, is the church of S. Giovanni Colabita. The up- 
per part of the church can be seen to the left of the tower. 
Beyond the church is a hospital under the charge of the 
brethren of S. Giovanni di Dio, who do all the work per- 
taining to this institution. 

The bridges before us are also especially worthy of 
our attention. The spacious modern bridge nearest us 
is the Ponte Palatino, sometimes called the Ponte Rotto 
from a more ancient bridge that once stood a few feet 
above the present structure. The earliest bridge on that 
spot was the Pons yEmilius, begun in B. C. 181 and 
finished thirty-eight years later. There the body of the 
Emperor Heliogabalus was thrown into the river. That 
bridge was three times rebuilt, but two of its arches 
were finally carried away in the great inundation of 



PONS SUBLICIUS. 15 

1598, and it was never again restored. Some of the 
existing remains of the ancient structure may be seen 
just north of the present bridge. 

A little lower down the river and beyond the range of 
our vision on our left, as can be discerned by consulting 
the map, stood the Pons Sublicius, the oldest bridge in 
Rome. No iron was used in its construction and it was 
said to have been built by Ancus Martius. It was on that 
old bridge that stood hardly more than three hundred 
yards from where we now are, that Horatius and his two 
companions " kept the bridge " against the Etruscan army 
of Lars Porsenna. Forsaken by his two companions, 
Horatius stood his ground alone until the Fathers had 
chopped down the bridge back of him ; then, leaping into 
the raging waters, he gained the other shore. 

Back darted Spurius Lartius, 

Herminius darted back ; 
And as they passed, beneath their feet, 

They felt the timbers crack. 
But when they turned their faces, 

And on the farther shore 
Saw brave Horatius stand alone, 

They would have crossed once more. 

But with a crash like thunder 

Fell every loosened beam, 
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 

Lay right athwart the stream : 
And a long shout of triumph 

Rose from the walls of Rome, 
As to the highest turret-tops 

Was splashed the yellow foam. — Macaulay. 



1 6 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

The name Sublicius is derived from sublica, meaning 
a " pile " or " stake," thus recalling the construction of 
the bridge, which probably was of timber on foundations 
of masonry, since these piers were seen in the Middle 
Ages. It was rebuilt several times, but was finally de- 
stroyed by floods and the remains of the structure were 
blown up in 1877 so as to remove the obstruction from 
the river. 

Before we go on with the bridges let us take time to 
note that on the opposite bank of the Tiber, less than 
two hundred yards below us and too far away on our 
left for us to see, and almost completely covered with 
shrubs and ivy, are two gigantic " Heads of Lions M 
(see map), to which in ancient times chains, drawn across 
the river to prevent the vessels of an enemy from passing 
up to the city, were fastened. And there (just beneath the 
grass plot down to our left) the Cloaca Maxima, the 
great sewer of ancient Rome, empties into the Tiber. 
Agrippa cleaned it out and sailed up it in a boat. It 
belongs to the period of Regal Rome and was constructed 
by the Xarquins for the draining of the Roman Forum 
and the low ground about it. This grand work, you 
remember, is not only a marvel of scientific construction, 
but is the most ancient example of the use of the arch in 
Rome. It has withstood earthquakes, floods and the 
devastations of time for more than two thousand five 
hundred years, showing the marvelous solidity of its con- 
struction ; for the uncemented arch is, in every respect, 
as strong to-day, two thousand years after the birth of 



PONTE SAN BARTOLOMEO. 1 7 

Christ, as it was six hundred years before he was born. 

It is somewhat singular that of the hundreds of antique 
drains discovered, no signs of any connections with pri- 
vate houses lining the streets through which the drains 
passed have been found. All side drains emptying into 
the Cloaca Maxima belonged to streets or public build- 
ings, never to private dwellings. 

Now turning to the bridges again, just observe how 
particularly time-worn and battered, like the scarred fea- 
tures of some grim warrior, those bridges look that con- 
nect the Island of Tiber with the mainland. 

The one to the left is the Ponte San Bartolomeo, which 
is a modern bridge in place of the ancient Pons Cestius 
which was said to have been built by Lucius Cestius, one 
of the six magistrates to whom Caesar entrusted the gov- 
ernment when he left for Spain in B. C. 46, and the 
brother of Gaius Cestius, whose pyramidal tomb is near 
the Porta Paolo. This ancient bridge was rebuilt and 
dedicated in A. D. 370, as we read from an inscription on 
the inside of the parapet, and in 1886-89 ft was altered 
completely, so that of the three arches only the middle one 
is ancient. We can distinguish the old and the new 
masonry by a little careful observation. 

The Island of the Tiber must have been originally 
connected with the eastern bank of the river by a wooden 
bridge as early as B. C. 192, but in B. C. 62, Lucius Fabri- 
cius, a commissioner of roads, built that bridge which we 
have had occasion to notice several times — the one seen 
over the Temple of Matuta. A contractor was held re- 



1 8 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

sponsible for the bridge he constructed for forty years, 
and it was, therefore, to his interest to build it well. This 
enables us to understand better why that bridge has stood 
the vicissitudes of more than two thousand years. It was 
standing there in the days of Brutus and Antony, and part 
of the original inscription is still visible. It is somewhat 
peculiar, as you see, in having two arches and the smaller 
one between them. Originally, there was a fourth arch, 
but this is now concealed by the modern embankment on 
the right. As the streets of ancient Rome were from 
ten to sixteen feet lower than the present ones, of course 
the bridges were somewhat lower as well. Horace 
speaks of this bridge as the favorite resort of those who 
wished to commit suicide. It received its present name 
Quattro Capi, four heads, because there are at the ex- 
tremities of its parapet, a couple of Hermes pillars with 
four heads, which, in the olden days, adorned the parapet. 
Two are still in place. It is noticeable that the river no 
longer flows under the bridge, for since the building of 
the embankmerft the stream has sought the mam chan- 
nel. 

The bridge we see beyond the Ponte San Bartolomeo, 
the third bridge on our left, is the Ponte Garibaldi, a 
modern structure, and the bridge we can faintly see be- 
yond that is the Ponte Sisto, built in 1474 by Sixtus IV 
on the site of the Pons Aurelius, which was partially de- 
stroyed in the eighth century. That farthest bridge was 
the scene of many Christian martyrdoms. The bodies 
of Christians were there thrown into the river and usual- 



JANICULUM HILL. 1 9 

ly drifted down to the Island of the Tiber, where they 
were recovered for burial by their faithful friends. It is 
an Italian superstition that you have no good luck if 
you cannot see a " white horse, an old woman and a 
priest " while crossing that bridge ; not a difficult require- 
ment anywhere in Rome. 

Looking on up the river now, across the line of 
bridges and to the left of St. Peter's, we see again that 
long hillside, standing out boldly against the sky, the 
northern half of the Janiculum Hill or Mons Aureus. It 
was called Janiculum from the tradition that Janus, the 
sun-god, had formerly founded a city on the spot, and the 
upper formation of the hill, being a yellow sand, gave it 
the name of Mons Aureus, the mountain of gold, still 
commemorated in the word Montorio, as in S. Pietro 
in Montorio. On that hillside are a number of sites and 
buildings all crowded with historic memories. When 
Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome died, he was 
buried there and the books of his laws and ordinances 
were buried in a tomb near him. It was over that same 
ridge, as the legend goes, that Tarquinius Priscus, com- 
ing from Tarquinii, had his first view of the city over 
which he was to reign ; and it was there the eagle, after- 
wards the emblem of Roman power, replaced on his 
head the cap which it had snatched away when he set 
out on his journey. 

It was there, also, though further to the left, that Lars 
Porsenna, King of Etruria, looked upon Rome and 
then turned back, terrified by the daring of Horatius and 



20 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the heroism of Mucius, who burnt his hand to the wrist 
by holding it in the glowing coals; and it was from the 
foot of that hill that the hostage, Cloelia, swam the 
Tiber in order to reach her home. There, too, coming 
down to the last days of the Republic, Octavius, the 
friend of Sulla, was murdered, and it was near the base 
of the hill, not far from the river, that Julius Caesar had 
his famous garden. 

Just beyond the farthest bridge we see the beautiful 
Villa Farnesina (marked on the map Farnesina Palace), 
rising above a luxuriant orchard which extends down 
to the river. The palace was built in 1509 for the cele- 
brated Agostino Chigi, merchant and banker of Pope 
Julius II, who gave there a most elaborate entertain- 
ment to Pope Leo X and his court. Fish while still 
alive were brought from Spain and Constantinople, and 
cost fabulous prices, while the gold and silver plates and 
spoons were so abundant that they were thrown into the 
Tiber to prevent their being used again. That villa con- 
tains some of Raphael's most beautiful frescoes. 

Nearer to us, but further up the hill (our map will make 
its location plain), is the magnificent Palazzo Corsini. 
Cardinal Corsini there entertained Michelangelo, who 
remained in the palace for more than a year. Erasmus 
also lived there and Queen Christina of Sweden died there 
in 1869. 

Extending up the hill from the Palazzo Corsini are 
the Botanical Gardens, while crowning the summit, 
among those cypress trees which we can see, is the Villa 



CHURCH OF ST. ONOFR1US. 21 

Gabriella, and to the north toward St. Peter's and nearer 
the river, the large building with the tower is the prison, 
and just north of it is the military college, while still 
nearer St. Peter's with walls whitening in the dazzling 
sunlight, is the Church of St. Onofrius, built in 1439, in 
honor of St. Onofrius, a monk of Thebes, " who retired 
into the desert and lived in a cave for sixty years with- 
out seeing a human face or uttering one word of his 
mother tongue except in prayer." 

But what has made that place memorable is the fact that the 
great poet Tasso died there. He came to Rome in 1594 to be 
crowned by the Pope on the Capitol. As he arrived at the begin- 
ning of winter and the weather was inclement, it was decided to 
postpone the coronation until the following spring. Tasso was in 
feeble health and was taken to the monastery of St. Onofrius. 
Here he became seriously ill and in two weeks died. Just before 
his death he remarked: " I believe that the crown I looked for on 
the Capitol is to be changed for a better crown in heaven. ,, The 
last words he uttered were, " In manus Tuas, Domine." The gar- 
den of the convent beside the church, a lovely spot, contains an 
oak which Tasso planted, and there, every twenty-fifth of April, a 
musical entertainment of the Accademia is held in memory of the 
poet and his bust is crowned with laurel leaves. 

Now let the eyes cross the Ponte Sisto, the fourth 
bridge from where we are standing. The building just 
this side of where the bridge joins the east bank of the 
river is a hospital, and back of it to the northeast, loom- 
ing up with stern and somber aspect and seen over that 
pile of ruined wall, is the Spada Palace which contains 
the celebrated statue of Pompey, believed by some to be 



2 2 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the very statue at the foot of which Caesar was killed. 
The dome to the right of the palace (shown on the map 
near the suspension bridge), in this landscape of swarm- 
ing domes, is the church of S. Giovanni de'Fiorentini, 
the handsome national church of the Florentines, and to 
the right of that dome, and farther away against the 
horizon, we see a little of the glistening walls of the 
Castle of S. Angelo, or Tomb of Hadrian. 

The spacious building which we see over the old brick 
tower on the Island of the Tiber, is the splendid Farnese 
Palace, the most magnificent of all the Roman palaces. 
Antonio da Sangallo and Michelangelo were the archi- 
tects. 

It was constructed with material plundered from the Colosseum 
and from the Theatre of Marcellus, which accounts for the im- 
mense blocks of stone used thereby giving the edifice an unrivalled 
appearance of solidity and grandeur. Its vast walls are all aglow 
with masterpieces of art. The Farnese gallery of sculpture was 
rifled of its greatest treasures by the kings of Naples, to whom 
the palace came by inheritance, and these are now in the Museum 
of Naples. That building was purchased in 1874 by the French 
government whose embassy to the Vatican is now established 
there. In the courtyard of the palace is an ancient sarcophagus 
from the tomb of Csecilia Metella on the Appian Way, which we 
shall visit later, and the noble fountains in front of the palace pour 
their crystal floods into granite basins taken from the Baths of 
Caracalla. All Rome was sacked and plundered for the building 
and adornment of the palace, and nothing was so grand or so 
beautiful or so sacred as to be exempt. If it were good enough 
and could be used, these were the only considerations that pre- 
vailed. 



POMPEY S THEATRE. 2 

Look now at those two domes nearest us rising so 
proudly over the Temple of Matuta. They belong to 
the churches of S. Carlo a Catinari, and S. Andrea 
della Valle, the latter so called because of a depression, 
now scarcely visible, made by Agrippa for a reservoir 
and subsequently used by Nero for his fetes. 

Near these churches and a little to the left, as can be 
seen by consulting the general map of the city, are the 
principal remains of Pompey's Theatre (see map of an- 
cient Rome), numerous fragments of whose massive 
walls have been incorporated in the Palazzo Righetti and 
other buildings. 

Pompey erected that theatre, the first permanent theatre in 
Rome, by a plausible bit of strategy worthy of more recent times. 
The Consul Scipio Nasica (B. C 155) affirmed that a permanent 
theatre would corrupt the people. The senate objected to a circus 
with seats, fearing, as Valerius Maximus states, "lest the manly 
practice of standing, a habit peculiar to the Roman people, might 
fall into disuse ; " and even the Emperor Titus argued against 
such luxury on the ground that " whole days might be spent by 
the people sitting in idleness," a remark which shows how thor- 
oughly he understood the Roman character. Pompey did not fly 
in the face of this prevalent opinion, he was too shrewd a poli- 
tician for that, but he deliberately hoodwinked them instead, for 
he erected on the summit of his magnificent theatre, in such a way 
that the seats of the audience room formed the steps, a temple 
to Venus Victrix, and invited the people to its dedication, telling 
them that beneath would be seats from which they could behold 
the unparalleled spectacles with which the temple was to be in- 
augurated. " Thus," complains Tertullian, " he secured a cen- 
surable profit under the veil of religion." In honor of the opening 
of this temple-crowned theatre many animals were slaughtered, 



24 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

and, in the reign of Augustus in the fights that took place there, 
five hundred lions and twenty elephants lost their lives. Subse- 
quently, Nero caused the whole interior of the edifice, and every- 
thing pertaining to it, to be gilded in a single day ; he also caused 
the whole structure to be covered with an awning studded with 
gold stars, beneath which he placed an image of himself as Apollo 
guiding the chariot of the Sun. 

This theatre could accommodate forty thousand people, but, 
like the many buildings and countless works of art set up by 
Pompey in that plain, only its ruins remain. 

The third conspicuous dome and the one farthest to 
the right belongs to the Church of Saint Agnese, built 
in the seventeenth century on the site where St. Agnes 
suffered martyrdom. The dome dimly seen, still further 
to the right, is that of the Church of S. Maria della 
Pace, the church to which all newly married couples go 
to attend their first mass together; believing that there- 
by they secure a special blessing. 

It will be interesting for us to note in the different sec- 
tions of Rome we visit what has come down to us from 
each of the five great periods of the city's history. (A 
sketch of these periods is given in the " Story of Rome," 
found in the beginning of this book.) Going back to the 
time of the Kings, 753-509 B. C, we remember that ac- 
cording to the legend, Romulus and Remus were safely 
landed by the Tiber at this place at our feet. In those 
days, of course, all this territory before us was unin- 
habited. It was during that period that this island was 
formed, so the legend says, by the corn crop left by the 
Tarquins. A little later the Cloaca Maxima (the great 



HISTORIC BUILDINGS. 25 

sewer) was constructed from the Forum to the river at 
this point. During the Republic (509 B. C. to 31 B. C.) 
the Temple of -^Esculapius was reared on the island, the 
Bridge of Cestius was built, and also the Fabrician Bridge 
and the Theatre of Pompey. 

During the Empire, 31 B. C. to 476 A. D., the Theatre 
of Marcellus and the ^Elian Bridge or Ponte S. Angelo 
were built, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, and the Circus 
Neronianus built by Caligula were constructed, the last 
on the site of St. Peter's. A look at the map of ancient 
Rome at the time of the Emperors will give you an idea 
of the location of these buildings. 

During the Papacy, 476-1806, the city about St. Peter's 
on the west side of the Tiber, known as the " Leonine 
City," was settled and surrounded by a wall erected by 
Leo IV. Most of the churches and buildings we see 
before us date from this period, that of the Papacy. 

Dean Stanley says that he learned from Arnold of 
Rugby when he visited a new place, always to see it from 
above. So pressing hilltop or tower into his service, he 
climbed up first. This is precisely what we have been 
doing, looking upon the northwestern part of Rome from 
above, from the bell tower of the Cosmedin church. We 
shall now press into service the Janiculum Hill, which 
has, up to this time, been off to our left, and look down on 
Rome toward the east. 

Let us turn again to our general map of Rome. About 
five inches to the left or west of the Cosmedin church, 



26 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

where we have been standing, we find on the Janiculum 
Hill, the church, S. Pietro in Montorio. It was for this 
church, you remember, that Raphael painted his master- 
piece, The Transfiguration, and here it was preserved 
down to 1797. Near the church are two circles enclosing 
the numbers 2 and 3. From this place four red lines branch 
out toward the right, or east. If we follow the upper one of 
these lines and the third one from it to the right hand mar- 
gin of the map, we find the figure 2 at the end of each. 
We shall stand next at the point from which these two 
lines start and look east over all that part of Rome lying 
between these lines. We shall evidently be looking right 
over the Island of the Tiber and beyond to the Forum and 
the Capitoline and Palatine hills. 

2. Capitoline, Palatine and Cselian Hills 
—once the World's Centre— from the 
Janiculum. 

The Island of the Tiber is nowhere to be seen and the 
only suggestion of the Tiber itself is that stretch of white 
embankment in the middle distance on our left, and seen 
just to the left of that nearest tower. But beyond 
that strip of river embankment, ranging from left to 
right, are five of Rome's seven hills. We may be sur- 
prised, at first — most people are — at the level aspect of 
things here in Rome, the famous hills appearing more 
like billows or swellings, scarcely perceptible at times 
in the sea of countless structures, spreading and vanish- 
ing before us. But nevertheless we can get these hills 



THE CENTRE OF ROME. 27 

clearly in mind. For to the left, beyond the Tiber em- 
bankment, we see a tower jutting up above the sky- 
line. That is the so-called Tower of Nero, and it 
marks in a way the southern extremity of the Quirinal 
Hill. That, we remember, is the most northern of the 
seven hills; the main portion of it lies beyond the range 
of our vision in that direction. The Viminal Hill lies 
directly beyond the Tower of Nero, extending toward 
the northeast, though you cannot distinguish any particu- 
lar elevation from here. We should constantly refer to 
the map in order to get a definite idea of these loca- 
tions. To the right of Nero's Tower, directly back of 
this near tower, is the Capitoline Hill. T,he dark foliage 
of trees shows its outline fairly well, and the tower of the 
present Capitol, built upon the remains of the ancient 
Tabularium, rises prominently above it. Farther to the 
right is another tree-covered elevation against which we 
see outlined a nearer tower with a pyramidal roof. That 
is the Palatine Hill. Against the skyline, seen over the 
cypresses on this hill, we can discover the massive walls 
of the Colosseum. Just beyond and between the two hills 
last pointed out, the Palatine and the Capitoline, lies the 
Roman Forum, extending, as our map shows, from the 
building beneath the Capitol Tower on the Capitoline 
Hill off to the right toward the Colosseum. We will not 
stop now to think about that spot, fascinating as it is. 
Later we shall go and stand among its crowded ruins. 
Between these two hills and a little beyond them, we 
can see the gigantic arches of the Basilica of Constan- 



28 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

tine, which stand on the farther side of the Forum. Be- 
yond the arches, covered with buildings that make up 
part of the skyline, is all that is left of the Esquiline Hill. 
There, though we can hardly distinguish them, are the 
ruins of the Baths of Titus, built on a part of the site of 
Nero's Golden Palace; and on that hill, we remember, 
was the Villa of Maecenas where Horace was a con- 
stant guest; and from a tower in that villa Nero saw the 
burning of this city to the slow music of his own violin 
while he revelled in what he called " the splendor and 
witchery of the flames." When the line of Euripides was 
quoted to him, " When I am dead, sink the whole world 
in flames," he replied, " Nay, while I live ! " Vergil also 
lived on that Esquiline Hill, near the gardens of Mae- 
cenas. 

To the right of the Palatine Hill and scarcely separated 
from it, is another mound which extends beyond out 
vision limit. That is the Caelian Hill. Crowning a mas- 
terly site on this hill, back of the dark cypresses on the 
side nearest us, is the renowned Church of St. John 
Lateran. This completes a skyline, beginning with 
Nero's Tower, which is not equalled elsewhere in all the 
world. Only one of the seven hills on which Rome ruled 
the world is hidden from us here. That hill is the Avtn- 
tine, which lies off to our right. 

During the course of the centuries the summits of 
these mound-like elevations have been levelled off, and 
the intervening valleys have been largely filled up. It is 



THE HILLS OF ROME. 29 

evident, though, that the hills were never very high. 
Their respective height above sea level is as follows : 

Capitoline, 157 feet; Palatine, 166 feet; Cselian, 158 
feet; Viminal (railway station), 187 feet; Esquiline, 177 
feet; Quirinal (Porta Pia), 206 feet; Aventine, 150 feet. 

But beyond all that comes within our present range of 
vision, is the land of Italy, stretching away on all sides of 
us. Off in front of us and to the left, beyond Nero's 
Tower, not over twenty miles away, are the Sabine Moun- 
tains, the foot hills of the Apennine Mountains ; not more 
than fifteen miles toward the southeast, on our right, must 
be the Alban Hills, and directly to our right, only fifteen 
miles away is the sea. Back of us, or rather over 
our left shoulder, are the hills of Tuscany; and still 
farther away in that direction are Florence, Milan and 
Venice; and still farther, three or four hundred miles 
distant, is Switzerland, a part of the Gaul of Caesar's 
day. Greece, Asia Minor and the East, whither so many 
armies went from Italy, lie far away before us; while 
Carthage, toward which the Romans on these hills turned 
their thoughts in bitter hatred for so many centuries, lies 
not more than three hundred and fifty miles to our right. 
We are standing, then, not only in the midst of Rome, 
but also in the midst of the Roman Empire. 

At present, however, we are to give most of our at- 
tention to this city of Rome itself, and in order to sim- 
plify what otherwise might be perplexing to the average 
tourist who looks out on this mass of buildings, we shall 
try to think of the objects of interest before us in the 



30 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

order of their antiquity; that is, in relation to the five 
different periods into which we divided this city's past 
in our " Story of Rome." 

There is probably no structure that we now see in the 
landscape before us which has come down to us from 
the Kingly period (753 to 509 B. C). The Tabularium 
on which is the Tower of the Capitol, just pointed out, 
belongs to the Republican period (509 to 31 B. C). Of 
the buildings belonging to the time of the Empire (31 
B. C. to 476 A. D.), we can see dimly the ruins of the 
palaces of the Caesars on the Palatine, the walls of the 
Colosseum (81 A. D.) just beyond, and the Arches of 
the Basilica of Constantine (312 A. D.), between the 
Palatine and the Capitoline Hills. 

Let us proceed to give our attention to some of the 
churches before us that were founded during the period 
of the Empire. For instance, notice "again that noble, 
old square tower near us, a little to our left, pierced with 
windows and surmounted by a statue of the Virgin. 
That tower belongs to the Church of Santa Maria in 
Trastevere, supposed to be the first church in Rome 
dedicated to the Virgin. Tradition says Pope Calixtus 
I, A. D. 224, founded the church on this site because a 
spring of pure oil miraculously burst forth at the time of 
the birth of Christ and flowed down to the Tiber. From 
this came the name of the church, in early days, that of 
Fons Olei. A story is told that the tavern-keepers con- 
tended with the early Christians for this site, upon which 
the latter had reared a humble chapel, and that the mat- 



CHURCH OF S. M. IN TRASTEVERE. 3 1 

ter, being referred to the Emperor, Alexander Severus, 
he decided in favor of the Christians, saying, " I should 
prefer that it should belong to those who worship God, 
whatever be their religion." 

The church, the greater part of which extends toward 
us from the tower, has been frequently restored. The 
tower is ancient, being nearly one thousand years old. 
On one of the walls of this church is an old inscription 
supposed to date from the time of Trajan. Between the 
doors is said to be preserved the stone which was at- 
tached to S. Calixtus when he was thrown into the well. 
The nave is supported by Ionic capitals, some of which 
are decorated with heads of pagan gods. In this church 
are preserved some beautiful mosaics of birds found in 
the catacombs, and also an " Assumption of the Virgin." 
It would be interesting to go down and enter this quaint 
old structure and hear the music roll through the " long 
drawn aisles " and see the flood of light stream through 
the violet window panes and fall athwart the opus-alex- 
andrinum pavement. In this church there is, at the side 
door, a marble slab built into the wall, which is said to 
have laid by Peter's cross, and in which marks like foot- 
prints are to be found. The sacristan of the church re- 
peats the old story that these marks were left by the angels 
that stood around the dying Peter. 

The tall buildings just to the right of the church, di- 
rectly in front of us, enclosing a garden, are used by 
the Benedictine monks of St. Paul as a summer residence 
and monastery and the square tower with the peaked 



32 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

summit beyond these buildings belongs to the fine 
Church of S. Crisogono, supposed to date from the time 
of Constantine and certainly known in 499, though it 
has been restored several times. Near that church in 
1866 an excubitorium or " station house " of the Sev- 
enth Cohort of Vigles, the Roman firemen and police 
guards of the early centuries, was discovered. The rooms 
are in a fair state of preservation and show numerous 
graffiti or wall inscriptions drawn by the occupants. 

Now direct your attention once more to the Tower of 
the Capitol on the Capitoline Hill. Just to the left of 
this tower and almost directly over the bell-tower of the 
Church of S. Maria in Trastevere are seen in the dis- 
tance the two domes and campanile of the Church of S. 
Maria Maggiore. That church or basilica stands upon 
a slight eminence, the northern spur of the Esquiline 
Hill where Servius Tullius had a palace, and is at once 
simple and sublime. We find its location on the map be- 
tween the names of the Viminal and Esquiline Hills. 
That church ranks third among the great churches here, 
and is the largest and finest of the eighty churches in 
Rome dedicated to the Virgin. It is, in some respects, 
the most beautiful and harmonious basilica in the city. 
It is also one of the oldest church structures remaining 
in Rome and possibly in Christendom, having been 
founded in A. D. 352 by Pope Liberius to commemorate, 
it is said, a miraculous fall of snow on the fourth of Au- 
gust which covered only the site of the church. The Vir- 



CHURCH OF S. M. MAGGIORE. 33 

gin, appearing in a vision, announced that she had set 
apart this ground for a church to be called by her name. 

In honor of this vision, on the fifth of August each year the 
feast of La Madonna Delia Neve is held there, during which 
showers of white rose petals are thrown down through openings 
in the ceiling of the church, like a " leafy mist between the priests 
and the worshipers." The great campanile erected by Gregory 
XI in 1376 on his return from Avignon, is the highest tower in 
Rome. This church has a nave, two hundred and eighty feet long 
and sixty broad, supported by two rows of white Ionic columns, 
so chaste and simple that you might well imagine yourself in a 
Greek temple. • These pillars are surmounted by a frieze of 
resplendent mosaic pictures representing Old Testament scenes 
which were executed in A. D. 440, and yet they are so fresh and 
glowing that he who beholds them might well believe that they 
were but finished that very morning. The mosaic pavement, with 
its crimson and violet hues, softens the white and gold of the 
ceiling and the walls, for the flat roof is gilded with gold from 
the first fruits of the Spanish-American invasion and presented 
to the church by Ferdinand and Isabella. The general effect 
viewed from the great entrance is entrancingly beautiful. It is 
said that these glistening columns, that add so much to the grace 
and purity of the structure, were brought from a temple of Juno. 
In this church is the Santa Culla, that is. the cradle in which our 
Saviour is said to have been carried into Egypt, and it is shown to 
the people every Christmas eve. The world does not hold many 
other such remarkable temples of Christian worship. Well 
worthy is it to be one of the five patriarchal churches of Rome! 

Right in front of the church, at the summit of the old Vicus 
Cyprius, on the Via S. Maria Maggiore, in a little house pre- 
viously occupied by the poet, Pedo Albinovanus, is where, the 
poet Martial tells us, Pliny lived. 

We are able then to look out here upon the very first 



34 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Christian churches built in the world. What multi- 
tudes of churches have grown up from these early be- 
ginnings! What a change these early churches inaugu- 
rated! Even when these seats of Christian worship were 
first established, and for years afterwards, temples to the 
old Roman gods were still standing in this city. For 
nearly a thousand years the heathen temples had been 
the centres of the religious observances of the people. 
What bitter persecution these first representatives of the 
new faith had to meet! In their struggles and oftentimes 
seeming defeat, they hardly realized how great was the 
movement of which they were the forerunners. 

But before we turn from this place, we should give 
more careful attention to the more modern district of the 
city at our feet. It is caled the Trastevere, and is one 
of the most fascinating and characteristic parts of Rome. 
The people who live down under these roofs call them- 
selves Eminenti and prove their right to the title by their 
stately and arrogant manners ; and, indeed, some scholars 
hold that the residents of this district are the only lineal 
descendants of the ancient Romans, and much may be 
said in favor of this theory. Their language is a peculiar 
dialect containing a larger number of purely Latin words 
and phrases than the ordinary Italian. They are far 
more revengeful than other Romans. They dwell large- 
ly by themselves and rarely marry except among their 
own people. They are physically a magnificent race, be- 
ing stronger, handsomer and more graceful than their 



LIFE IN THE TRASTEVERE. 35 

neighbors. A Trasteveran girl is often an ideal of Ital- 
ian beauty : 

" There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip, 
Nay, her foot speaks !" 

A favorite expression of these people is " I am a 
Roman of Rome! " Romano di Roma! 

In this section of the city, more generally than else- 
where, the streets are sinuous, shadowy-like lanes, not 
unfrequently filled with odors of ancient vegetables and 
rancid oil. Into many of these tortuous thoroughfares 
the sun never shines. Open air cook stalls are seen on 
every hand, for many of the people never light a fire at 
home; dealers in cooked vegetables display steaming tur- 
nips, cauliflowers and spinach; bakers' shops with bread, 
looking as hard and round as paving-stones; lottery of- 
fices everywhere, wine-shops in abundance, while di- 
minutive donkeys pull creaking carts over the uneven 
pavement and the air resounds with the shouts of men, 
the cries of women and the screams of dirty-faced, tan- 
gled-haired children. 

Barber chairs are placed against the walls of buildings in the 
open air. It costs one cent to fell a beard of a month's growth. 

Such street scenes were much the same as early as Domitian's 
time. In fact, open air shops became such a nuisance that the 
emperor was compelled to do away with them. " The audacious 
shopkeepers," says Martial (vii, 61), "had appropriated to them- 
selves the whole city and a man's threshold was not his own. 
You, Germanicus (Domitian) bade the narrow streets grow wide; 
and what but just before was a pathway became a highway. No 
column is now girt at the bottom with chained wine flagons ; nor 



36 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

is the praetor compelled to walk in the midst of mud, nor again, 
is the barber's razor drawn blindly in the midst of the crowd, nor 
does the black cook-shop project over every street. The barber, 
the inn-keeper, the cook, the butcher keep their own places. The 
city is now Rome, recently, it was a great shop." It would seem 
as though another Domitian were now needed. 

It is an interesting sight to see the Trasteverini going home 
from their work at the evening time, their jackets slung jauntily 
over one shoulder, as with stately strides they pass along the 
darkening streets with " the lights twinkling in the little cavernous 
shops." 

Here in the Trastevere also, the famous and distinctively Italian 
game of " morra " originated, and here it can be seen played to 
the best advantage. The word " morra " expresses the idea of 
delay or check, and the game consists in presenting very sudden- 
ly to your opponent your right hand, keeping one or two ringers 
shut, and in crying at the same time the number of fingers ex- 
tended. Your partner is required to seize your intention with 
lightning-like rapidity, and is compelled at the same time to imi- 
tate you and to pronounce the number quite as rapidly. Failure 
to do so loses the count, and, if repeated, the game. In the ex- 
citement which accompanies the playing the Trasteverini often as- 
sume attitudes of ferocious grace and beauty. 

If a man is honest and straight, the Trasteverini have a saying, 
" So trustworthy, that one may play morra with him in the dark." 

You must observe that these houses have an original 
aspect, which is interesting by itself. They are not sim- 
ply piles of masonry, merely convenient and expression- 
less lodgings. The roofs of many of them, like those 
just below us with the covered doorways leading down 
to the hall below, are enclosed by a wall or balustrade, 
and serve as airy promenades, when they are not used 
for drying clothes, for which they serve, as the poles 



THE GHETTO. 37 

reared at intervals along the roof indicate. Ugly as many 
of these houses are, they still compel you to stop and take 
a second look at them. 

Glance again at that monastery garden beyond the 
nearest roof, hemmed in by tall brick buildings, then 
notice over the roof of the building, at the further end of 
the garden, the pyramidal tower of the Church of S. 
Crisogono; well, to the left of this campanile, only farther 
away, and situated on the other side of the river under 
the hill was the Ghetto, the Jewish quarter of Rome, in a 
labyrinth of crooked streets and foul gutters, the dark 
courts discharging pungent odors and the crumbling 
steps clinging to walls reeking with the filth of centuries. 

The word Ghetto comes from the Hebrew word " chat," broken 
or dispersed. The Jews first settled there in the time of Pompey 
the Great, after he had taken Jerusalem and brought the first 
Jewish slaves to Rome; and Vespasian, while always allowing 
Jews great freedom, taxed them the half shekel, formerly paid into 
the Temple treasury at Jerusalem, to Jupiter Capitolinns, and this 
tax, under another name, is still demanded of them. They at- 
tained fame as physicians long after their persecutions had begun ; 
and even as late as the fifteenth century, the chief physicians at 
the Vatican were Jews. This district was enclosed by Paul IV. 
by putting gates across the streets, and he compelled the Jews to 
remain in their quarters from sundown to sunrise. As a result of 
their restricted quarters the inhabitants of the Ghetto, about five 
thousand, performed all their vocations, commercial and domestic, 
in the streets. Their homes were so dilapidated and ill-kept that 
they were hardly endurable. You could never miss the Ghetto, 
for the odor was very marked even at a distance. So unbearable, 
at length, did it become that the Roman authorities have had the 



38 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

entire district leveled, but the soil is so reeking with filth that it 
still pollutes that part of the city. It has been laid waste for 
several years now, but no building will be permitted upon it until 
it is thoroughly purified by sun and rain, which will require some 
time. 

We said not long ago that the Aventine Hill lay be- 
yond the limit of our vision on the right. It is in that 
direction, too, some fifteen miles beyond the city limits, 
that the Alban Hills are situated, the site of Alba Longa, 
Rome's mother city. We will now look in that direction. 
That is, while remaining at this same place on the Janic- 
ulum Hill we shall turn so far toward the right, or south, 
that the tall chimney now in the distance on our extreme 
right will then be at the extreme left of our field of 
vision. The general map of Rome will make this next 
position definite. We found before on the map that there 
were four red lines branching toward the east and south 
from our position on the Janiculum Hill. We are now to 
see that part of Rome which is included between the sec- 
ond of these lines from the top and the lowest line. At 
the end of each of these lines on the map margin we find 
the figure 3. 

3. Aventine Hill and Distant Alban Moun- 
tains, Southeast from Janiculum. 

We are looking somewhat south of east here, and 
there on our left is the tall, black, factory chimney. At 
our feet, toward the left, is the shingle-roof building 
which we saw before (Stereograph No. 2) on our right. 



THE PLACE OF BEGINNINGS. 39 

Now we can see the Aventine Hill, the last of the seven 
hills on the south. The little dark wood of cypress di- 
rectly before us, about half a mile distant, marks the 
northern limit of this hill and its southern limit is farther 
to the right than we can yet see. In the distance to the 
right, about twelve miles away, dimly outlined against the 
sky, are the Alban Hills. The general map of Italy 
gives their location. It was near the summit of those 
hills, by the side of a small lake, we remember, that the 
very first beginnings of Roman history were made. As 
we found in our " Story of Rome," the earliest traditions 
go back to that place as the political and religious centre 
of the Latin League. The more or less level tract of 
land all about Rome has been known for centuries as the 
Campagna or " country." The Latins inhabited all the 
sections of this Campagna which stretches to those hills 
before us and to the sea twenty miles away on our right. 
The hazy spur of hills off to our left is an offshoot 
of the main chain of the Apennines. They are called 
the Sabine hills from the people who inhabited them 
in the early history of Rome. The sides of all those hills 
in the distance have been dotted since the most ancient 
times with the homes of wealthy Romans. Tivoli out 
among the Sabine hills was the favorite summer re- 
sort in the time of Augustus and Horace, while visitors 
have been going out to the country homes and summer 
resorts on the north and northeast slope of the Alban 
Hills for centuries. Cato was born in that section, Cicero 
and Pompey had favorite residences there. 



40 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

But again we want to examine this special part of 
Rome before us more in detail. Human life, from what- 
ever standpoint it may be viewed, shows an infinite and 
wonderful variety; and yet, even where all is interesting, 
there are certain phases which admit of special mention 
and demand special attention. So it is in this strangely 
human and almost immortal city that lies at our feet. 
Almost every one of these structures sown so thickly 
over plain and hillside has a charm of its own, but we can 
consider only a few of the most important, the historical 
and architectural jewels, as it were. 

But in our admiration for the historic and the sublime, 
we cannot afford to overlook altogether the beauties of 
what is modern and commonplace. Therefore it will re- 
pay us first of all to fix our eyes on those low, shingled 
roofs just below us ; and then on these great, ponderous 
chimneys, some of which are covered with slightly raised 
slabs of stone to keep out the wind and rain — chimneys 
that never would draw and yet are most capacious. We 
shall feel nearer to the people living down in those houses 
after noticing the very roofs and chimneys above them. 
The houses with the flat, parapet roofs are modern and, to- 
gether with the wide, spacious streets, give an air of beauty 
and solidity to this part of the city. 

Now observe that nearly in the centre of our field of 
vision is a noble building surmounted by a clock tower 
which has a window just above the clock and a flag-staff 
on the top. That structure looks imposing enough to be 
an art gallery or a palace. It is a government institution, 



ITALIAN INDUSTRIES. 4 1 

although neither a postoffice nor a custom house but 
rather a tobacco factory, for in Italy the government has 
a monopoly of the tobacco business and derives a large 
part of its revenue from this source. In fact, while there 
are several others, this is the only large and successful 
manufactory in Rome. In this age, characterized as it 
is by an enormous and unparalleled productive energy, 
Italy is sadly behind the other great nations. For this 
state of things, there seem to be at least two causes. One 
is that Italy is practically without coal, and this is a great 
element in her industrial weakness. Another reason may 
be found in the temperament of the people. The Italian 
is not ostentatious like the Englishman and American in 
his receptions and in his sumptuous repasts; in his eyes 
a fine fluted column is worth more than fifty grand din- 
ners. After he has acquired a fortune by a life of frugal- 
ity, his idea of self-display is to build some grand public 
building, so beautiful and majestic, that, for all the years 
to come, it will be a dream or prayer or mighty oratorio 
in stone, perpetuating his memory in its faultless lines and 
imposing walls. 

Yet it is to be regretted that, with all their intellectual refine- 
ment, they are not more practical. Have you heard the story of 
the shoemaker, who was summoned to the house of a French 
general, during the time of the French occupancy of the city, 
when Paris was several days distant? It illustrates the imprac- 
ticability to which we have referred. " My man," said the gen- 
eral, " I want a fine pair of new boots but I fear that I cannot get 
what I want nearer than Paris." The shoemaker bowed, took 
the measure and left; eight days after, he furnished the general 



42 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

with an admirable boot as soft and well-fitting as a glove. 
" Peste ! " exclaimed the general, " you are a capital fellow, the 
boot fits well enough, now let me try the other." " The other ? " 
answered the workman, "you will have to get that made in 
Paris." 

They boast, however, of an artistic industry that is not surpassed 
elsewhere. Near the fountain of Trevi, off in the northern part of 
the city, is the establishment of the jeweler Castellani, whose col- 
lection of Etruscan jewels is very famous. This Romon goldsmith 
travelled through Europe and Asia in search of the art of solder- 
ing which enabled the ancients to incorporate microscopic orna- 
ments on an enameled surface by an invisible juncture. But all his 
efforts were unsuccessful. One day, during the Roman Carnival, 
he noticed a peasant girl on the Corso, who wore earrings like 
those found in Etruscan tombs. He stopped the girl and ques- 
tioned her as to where she procured them, and found that they had 
been made by a village jeweler out among the fastnesses of the 
Sabine Hills; and strange to say, it was in the workshop of this 
obscure mountain-bred craftsman that the lost art of Etruscan 
soldering was discovered, thus perpetuated in those almost inac- 
cessible wilds for over two thousand years. The man was brought 
to Rome, and that famous establishment took its rise from this 
curious beginning. 

Back of this clear, bright array of city-houses, there 
are some more ancient and important structures. We 
shall be able to pick out in the landscape before us some 
of the most notable of the early Christian churches. Sev- 
eral of them take us back through the time of United 
Italy, the long period of the Papacy, to the last centuries 
of the Empire. You see the tall black chimney to the 
left in the view before us? Well, now look to the left 
of that chimney beyond the dark trees on the Cselian 



ST. JOHN LATERAN. 43 

Hill, and you will see the form of a huge building. That 
magnificent structure, you remember, is the celebrated 
Church of St. John Lateran, wonderful in its architecture 
and in the glory of its situation. We saw the church at 
the extreme right from our former position but did not 
describe it. It is built on the site of two more ancient 
churches, the first being erected by Constantine the 
Great and consecrated in 324. It is said that the emperor 
labored with his own hands in the building of this early 
church. 

The name Lateranus was unfortunately prominent in the days 
of Claudius and Nero, for Plautius Lateranus was deprived of his 
rank as Senator because of his being one of the lovers of Mes- 
salina, and was put to death by Nero for having taken part in 
the conspiracy of Piso, and his estates were confiscated. The 
Lateran Palace was occupied by Constantine. whose wife Fausta 
belonged to the Lateran family. Constantine transferred it, with 
the church he had founded within it, to Sylvester, the bishop 
of Rome (314-337) as his episcopal residence. Nevertheless, the 
old heathen name still clung to it. The inscription on each side 
of the entrance shows that it was considered to be the Mother 
and Head of all the Churches of the City and of the world. It 
was the principal church of Rome after the time of Constantine 
the Great. 

At the Basilica of St. Peter's, the Pope is the spiritual 
sovereign of the Catholic Church; at St. John Lateran, 
he is the bishop, the Lateran church being the Cathedral 
of Rome, and hence in all things ecclesiastical, this church 
has the pre-eminence. In the august procession which 
marches through the nave of St. Peter's on great occa- 



44 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

sions, the clergy of the Vatican take a second place and 
those of St. John Lateran the first. 

It is interesting to observe that that Cathedral Church 
has no doors, but curtains, so that it is never closed, in 
order that the people may find refuge here at any hour. 
Notwithstanding the ecclesiastical pre-eminence of this 
church, St. Peter's and the Vatican, the world-centre of 
the great Catholic faith, have been more famous. St. John 
Lateran, as it is to-day, is little more than a place conse- 
crated by great memories. Earthquakes have devastated 
the spot and fires have swept over it, but the church has 
always been rebuilt in a more spacious and impressive 
manner. The present structure is adorned by costly 
marble and rich mosaics and precious stones. Splendid 
oriental columns of red granite support the great organ ; 
but the most remarkable are the fluted columns of gilded 
bronze which support the canopy of the Altar of the Sac- 
rament. They are eight and a half feet in circumference. 
On their enormous capitals rests an entablature of bronze. 
These columns are unrivaled in the perfection of their line 
and the precision of their flutings and in the play of the 
light on their bouquets of golden leafage. Nothing in 
Rome approaches them. Where they came from is the 
question that confronts the historian, for they evidently 
were not designed for this structure. Some believe that 
they belonged originally to the temple of Jupiter Capito- 
linus, others that they were brought to Rome by Titus 
from the Temple at Jerusalem, and that they are hollow 
and are filled with earth from Palestine. 



LATERAN PALACE AND PIAZZA. 45 

The nave, over four hundred feet long, is marked by 
twelve niches formed by pilasters which are placed over 
the ancient colunms, and in these niches there are twelve 
colossal statues, representing the apostles, by Bernini. 

Our guide was hardly within the bounds of historical 
accuracy, however, when, pointing to the high altar, he 
said impressively, " On this altar St. Peter said mass." 

Beside the church is the Lateran Palace. That, and a more 
ancient structure on the same site which was destroyed by fire 
in 1308, formed the residence of the Popes from the time of Con- 
stantine down to the migration to Avignon. On the return of the 
Pope to Rome in 1377, the Papal residence was established in the 
Vatican near St. Peters, where it has remained ever since. In 
1843, principally because men could not live in the damp and cheer- 
less rooms, Gregory XVI set apart the palace for the reception 
of heathen and Christian antiquities, the Capitoline and Vatican 
museums no longer being large enough. 

The Piazza del Laterano in front of the church and 
palace is grass-grown to-day ; silence and solitude are su- 
preme. The obelisk of Thotmes IV, the greatest of all 
monoliths, stands in grim loneliness in the middle of the 
great square, but its extended shadow rarely falls on any 
human being. A beautiful baptistery, two hospitals, and 
some convent buildings, together with the church and 
palace and a little building enclosing the Scala Sancta, the 
stairs to Pilate's house up which Christ is supposed to 
have walked when he was brought to trial, all circle about 
the Piazza. 

Starting once again with our low-shingled roof here 



46 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

at our feet look just beyond to the long, low roof, bright 
with sunshine, against which the leafless saplings stand 
out in silhouette. Glancing over the middle of the roof, 
you will see a white chimney that rears itself as majestic- 
ally as a marble column. Over the top of the chimney 
note the building with six windows on its shadowed side. 
Over the left-hand corner of the roof of this house, fix 
your attention upon a dark brick tower, having three 
rows of windows and three windows in each row; that is 
the bell tower of the convent and church of St. Caecilia, 
one of the most interesting buildings in Rome. It is said 
that originally the dwelling-house of the saint stood there. 
It was built before the fifth century, some say by Urban 
I in 230 A. D., and was rebuilt by Paschal I because of a 
dream through which he discovered the body of the 
saint. Caecilia, was a rich and noble Roman lady who 
lived in the reign of Alexander Severus. Her husband 
and brother suffered martyrdom for refusing to sacri- 
fice to idols, and Caecilia herself was condemned to death 
for the same reason. 

The story that has come down to us is that she was first shut 
up in the hot chamber of her own bath which was heated more 
than usual in the hope that she would be suffocated; but we are 
assured that when the bath was opened she was found unharmed, 
God having sent a cooling shower into the room which preserved 
the life of the Saint. After this, an executioner was sent to be- 
head her, but in his fear and haste he showed but little skill, for 
he found it necessary to strike three blows, and even this did not 
sever the head from the body. His victim lived several days, ex- 
horting believers to faithfulness, and even ministering to the poor ; 



ST. CAECILIA. 47 

and, as the result of her eloquence and self-sacrifice, four hundred 
pagans were converted. Then, blessing God for the privilege of 
being counted worthy to be numbered with the glorious company 
of martyrs, she fell asleep. She was buried in the catacombs of 
St. Calixtus, about five miles beyond the city toward the Alban 
Hills, and afterwards the body was removed to this church by 
Paschal I. Beneath the high altar is a marble reclining statue, 
by Stefano Maderna, representing her body in a tomb. The in- 
scription is as follows : " Behold the body of the most holy vir- 
gin, Caecilia, whom I myself saw lying uncorrupt in her tomb. I 
have, in this marble, expressed for thee the same saint in the same 
posture of body. — Stefano Maderna." 

When Cardinal Sfondrato restored the church in 1590, 
he asserts that he found her body in the tomb, just as it 
had been deposited there eight hundred years before, 
after being found in the catacombs by Paschal I. The 
feast of St. Caecilia is observed in this church on Novem- 
ber 22d, when most exquisite music is rendered by the 
world-famed papal choir, in honor of 

" Rapt Caecilia, seraph-haunted queen of harmony." 

The association of this saint with music was the re- 
sult of the tradition that when her husband, Valerianus, 
who had been a heathen, returned from his baptism, he 
found her singing hymns of praise and gladness because 
of his conversion; and that when they opened the door 
of the sudatorium of her bath, she was singing praises to 
God. She sang with such- ravishing sweetness that even 
the angels descended from heaven to listen to her, or to 
join their voices with hers. 

Over the summit of the tower of St. Caecilia can be 



48 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

seen £he round roof of the Church of St. Stefano Ro- 
tondo, outlined above the other buildings against the 
haze of the distant hills. That famous church was erected 
by Pope Simplicius (468-483). It was constructed on 
the site of an ancient circular building belonging to the 
great victual market " Macellum Magnum/' erected by 
Nero. It is the largest circular church in the world. 
The building is one hundred and thirty-three feet in 
diameter, with a double circle of granite columns, thir- 
ty-six in the outer and twenty in the inner circle, and 
these enclose two massive yet graceful Corinthian col- 
umns which support a cross wall. The walls of the build- 
ing represent in frescoes every conceivable form of hu- 
man agony, and that in the most shocking manner, thus 
portraying the martyrdoms of the Church. 

Now, come back again to the tobacco factory and over 
the top of that tall chimney to the right of the clock 
tower, you will observe still another large and ancient 
church, that of S. Sabina, on the Aventine Hill. The 
edifice was erected on the site of the house of the saint 
after whom the church is called, and the house was built 
on the foundation of the temple of Juno Regina which 
once stood there. The twenty-four Corinthian pillars of 
snowy marble which now support the nave of the sacred 
edifice belonged to the old temple. The church is said 
to have been built by Peter, a priest of Illyria A. D. 425, 
" rich for the poor and poor for myself/' as may be read 
in the inscription inside the principal entrance. The 
church has been several times restored. 



MONASTERY OF ST. ALESSIO. 49 

It was in that church that St. Hyacinth, hearing the preaching 
of St. Dominic, who was founder of the Dominican order, gave 
himself as a missionary; and it was hither that St. Thomas 
Aquinas came when he was followed to the very door of the con- 
vent by his mother, who begged him to abandon his desires for a 
monastic life and return home with her. 
An interesting story of this place is told by a recent writer : 
In the garden of the convent important excavations were made, 
some years ago, and remains of the wall of Servius Tullius, built 
of gigantic blocks of peperino, and of an ancient Roman house, 
were found there. The rooms were paved with mosaics, and on the 
walls were painted figures, representing a sacrifice being offered 
before a statue of a god in a shrine. The walls of the house 
seemed to have been strengthened and the place used as a prison, 
judging by the rude scratching on the stones by those who were 
incarcerated there, one inmate inscribing curses on his captors, 
and another, more reverently inclined, imploring the aid of the 
gods to enable him to regain his freedom. 

To the right of the S. Sabina are the celebrated 
Hieronymite church and monastery of St. Alessio. The 
monastery is visible to the right of the church. 

The story is that Alexis, to whom the church is dedicated, was 
forced by his parents, when a young man, into marriage, not- 
withstanding the fact that he had taken the vow of celibacy. Stung 
by remorse, he fled from his home, but returned and lived unrec- 
ognized for seventeen years as a poor beggar, sleeping every night 
under the steps that led to his father's house. His autobiography 
made clear his self-denial, and the Pope and Senators gave him 
a glorious burial. The wooden stairs under which Alexis lived 
are still shown. 

There are few places in the world from which we 



50 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

could see in one field of view so many of the earlier 
churches of the Christian religion. Perhaps because of 
the pagan opposition, the earliest Roman churches were 
those built over the tombs of martyrs and so were 
founded outside of the city. Churches in the city were 
pagan temples converted to the use of the Christians. 
After the law of Honorius in 408, which deprived the 
ancient religion of all its temporal possessions, the 
Christian places of worship increased rapidly. The most 
famous remains recalling the Christians, which date back 
to the first years of the great change from Pagan to 
Christian Rome, from Rome as the political head of the 
world to Rome as the spiritual head, are the Catacombs, 
the earliest burial places of the Christians. 

These subterranean passages, excavated from twenty-five to sev- 
enty-five feet below the surface of the earth, and which if placed 
in a continuous line would extend about five hundred and fifty 
miles, are found ranged around the city at a distance therefrom of 
from one to three miles. A large proportion of them lie in the 
plain that stretches away before us to the Alban and Sabine Hills. 

From our present position we are able to point out few 
if any remains of any character that have come down to us 
from the early Empire, the Republic or the time of the 
Kings. During the Republic, among other temples in 
this section was one to Diana on the Aventine, one to 
Ceres at its base near the Tiber, another to Mercury on 
the side toward the northeast. During the Empire the 
temples increased considerably in number, and one of the 



THE CENTRE OF RELIGIOUS POWER. 51 

most magnificent structures of that period was that of the 
Baths of Caracalla on the farther side of the Aventine. 
We are to see the enormous ruins of those Baths later. 

We will now leave our position on the Janiculum 
Hill where we have been for some time and take our 
stand in the Dome of St. Peter's on the Vatican Hill. 
This means we are to move to what has been the great 
centre of Rome's religious power ever since the return 
of the Pope from France in 1377. We are not, however, 
to study that place as a church centre at first, but rather to 
utilize St. Peter's great dome as a point of view from 
which to see the whole northern part of Rome. We 
should look at the general map again to get our next 
position more clearly in mind. We find St. Peter's, 
Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano, in the upper left-hand 
portion of the map to the west of the Tiber. The heavy 
black lines give the outline of the main body of the 
church and the dotted lines, extending to the right en- 
closing in semicircular form the Piazza di San Pietro, 
show the position of the grand Colonnade. Note care- 
fully the two red lines which start from the black plan 
of the church and extend toward the right or east to the 
map margins with the number 4 at the end of each. 
We are to stand then at the point from which these lines 
start and look out over all that part of the city which the 
lines include. We ought to see the great Colonnade of 
St. Peter's, the Castle of St. Angelo, the Tiber, and 
practically the whole northern part of the city. 



52 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

4. Rome, the Eternal City, from the Dome 
of St. Peter's. 

What a magnificent prospect! Half of Rome is lying 
at our feet. There, four hundred feet below us, is the 
great Piazza of St. Peter's, on which men, horses and 
carriages look like mere dots on the pavement. We shall 
not stop to describe that Piazza now except to call atten- 
tion to that splendid colonnade almost surrounding it, 
which can be viewed to better advantage here than in any 
place we shall be later. All must admit that this colon- 
nade enfolding the Piazza is imposing, almost sublime. 
There is nothing equal to it in any temple in the world. 
There are four rows of columns, — we can see those of one 
of the outer rows down on our right, — each column forty- 
eight feet high, while the space beneath the curving roof 
which rests upon them is fifty-five feet wide. Along 
the parapets that crown the inner rows of columns are 
two hundred and thirty-six statues of saints, each ten 
feet high. 

But there is a multitude of things demanding our atten- 
tion here. There in the middle distance, directly beyond 
the centre of the Piazza, is the Tiber, making at that 
place, as we know by the map, its first bend to the west. 
The buildings to the right hide from view its curve back 
toward the south and east. That ponderous circular 
structure on the upper bank of the T.iber, this side of the 
three-arched bridge, is the Castle of St. Angelo, or Tomb 
of Hadrian. The map gives a good idea of the plan of 
the structure. As we are to go near it later we need 



OVERLOOKING THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 53 

only call attention to its location now. Beyond the 
Castle and the Tiber we look to the very limits of the 
city, where buildings fade gradually into the haze of the 
broad Campagna. Sometimes the snow-covered sum- 
mits of the Apennine mountains can be seen from here. 
The map shows that there is but a small part of the city 
lying to the north of us, or beyond our vision limit on the 
left. We are soon to look in that direction, however, and 
see for ourselves. But the greater part of the city, which 
we do not see, now lies, we know, around to our right, or 
the south. The point on the Janiculum Hill from which 
we looked out over the Aventine Hill (Stereograph No. 3) 
and again over the Forum and its surroundings (Stereo- 
graph No. 2) is somewhat over a mile away to the south. 
It is easy for us to surmise that the part of the city we 
now see in the distance over to the right must have been 
seen on our left when we were looking toward the Forum 
from the Janiculum (Stereograph No. 2). The red lines 
on the map, which mark out our field of vision then and 
now, show definitely what section we are looking over 
for the second time. Two prominent structures which 
we noticed in our former position were the domes of 
the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, and the so-called 
Tower of Nero. Suppose we try to find these buildings 
from this new standpoint. Let our starting point be the 
beautiful fountain to the right of the obelisk down there 
on the Piazza. Then direct your gaze over the fountain 
and colonnade, and a short distance away to that curious 
building facing us with four windows below and a large 



54 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

circular window above. The upper side wall of this build- 
ing, white as fresh marble, contains five windows near its 
roof. This is one of the great halls of the immense 
hospital of San Spirito which, as we can see by the map, 
extends down to the Tiber and for some distance along 
its bank. We might as well stop for a few minutes to 
consider that vast institution since we have our eyes upon 
it. The old brick tower riddled with windows and som- 
ber with age which you see just back of the hall belongs 
to the ancient chapel or church of S, Spirito. The hos- 
pital itself was founded in 1201 by Innocent III on the 
site of a Hospice which the King of the West Anglicans 
established there away back in 717. The buildings were 
burned down and rebuilt several times, and became very 
richly endowed. It contains one thousand, six hundred 
and eighty beds, about five hundred and sixty permanent 
patients and two hundred servants. All diseases are ad- 
mitted there and five thousand surgical cases are treated 
each year. Down there also is a Foundling Asylum be- 
side whose gate is still to be seen the rete or grill, which is 
simply a revolving wheel or drum with a small open- 
ing through which many thousands of infants are passed 
annually by those who for any reason wish to get rid of 
them. When the babe is placed in the drum, a card 
appears on which is a number by means of which the 
child may be identified in the future. Within they are 
cared for by nuns until some charitable provision can be 
made for them or until they are able to care for them- 



SAN SPIRITO. 55 

selves. Upwards of two thousand foundlings are con- 
stantly being provided for in this way. 

I was talking with a bright young Italian physician in 
regard to that great institution and learned from him 
that all the medical students in Rome attend clinical in- 
struction in that hospital, and many and interesting were 
the incidents he related of the student days he spent 
there. 

From this digression we will now return to our quest 
for S. Maria Maggiore and the Tower of Nero. Look 
far away over the rounded facade of this Hall of S. 
Spirito and you will see a dark tower near the confines 
of the city, outlined against the hazy plain beyond. You 
can also see two domes, one almost in line with the 
tower. That is the church of S. Maria Maggiore. Start 
again with the fountain to the right of the obelisk in the 
Piazza below us, then let your eye fall upon the old brick 
tower or campanile of the church of S. Spirito. Then 
look beyond it to the white marble building seen over 
the summit of the tower. Over the extreme right-hand 
corner of the roof of this structure you will see the lofty 
church of S. Agnese. Now look carefully beyond and 
to the right of this dome and you will see the Nero 
Tower. Evidently, then, the Capitoline Hill and the 
Forum must lie a little to the right of the limit of our 
vision in that section. 

Now let us give our attention to the most important 
objects and places in this most inspiring outlook before 



56 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

us, and then we can think briefly of this part of the city 
in each of the great epochs of Roman history. 

A short distance to the left of the church of S. Agnese 
is the famous dome of the Pantheon, part of its shadowy 
form is outlined against a strip of white wall beyond. 
Another means of getting its location is by looking 
above the brick tower of the S. Spirito church to the 
white building back of it, and then straight on over that 
building until the eye rests upon the broad majestic 
dome. The original building erected by M. Agrippa. 
son-in-law of Augustus, B. C. 27, was destroyed, and the 
present structure is the work of the Emperor Hadrian. 
More than one thousand, eight hundred years have passed 
over it and we do not seem, with all our science and 
knowledge, to be able to rear another like it. We shall 
have more to say about it when we go to see it near at 
hand. 

Look now directly over and beyond the lower embank- 
ment of the Tiber and you will see a huge rectangular 
building pierced by a bewildering number of regularly 
disposed windows, the whole having the appearance of 
a citadel. Though we can hardly notice it at this dis- 
tance, there is considerable space that separates this 
seemingly solid mass of buildings into two parts. That 
on the left hand comprises the royal stables, that on the 
right is the Quirinal Palace — since 1870 the residence of 
the King of Italy. Back of the Palace are the Quirinal 
Gardens. Consulting the map, we see that this royal 
palace stands on the main portion of the Quirinal Hill. 



THE QUIRINAL. 57 

That, then, is the northernmost of the far-famed seven 
hills, the one we did not see from any of our former 
positions. That enormous palace was begun in 1574, 
under Gregory XIII, and the prolongation of his labors 
by his successors has made it one of the largest and 
ugliest buildings extant. Until 1848 it was frequently 
occupied in summer by different popes because of its 
elevated and healthful situation. It was the favorite 
residence of Pope Pius VII, and it was there he was 
taken prisoner by the French. In 1871 the palace was 
forcibly seized by Victor Emmanuel, who lived there un- 
til his death, January 9, 1878. 

The Quirinal Gardens, which are now closed to the 
public, are cold and formal, and apart from numerous 
fountains and an organ played by a waterfall, there is 
little of interest to be seen. From the balustrade, you 
can look in this direction and get a view of the whole 
city, including St. Peter's and the Janiculum. 

To the right of the Palace of the Quirinal can be seen 
the square, solid, white-faced Rospigliosi Palace with 
the dark trees of the Colonna Gardens, just in front, out- 
lined against it. Here the map will help us again, al- 
though the name of the Palace is spelled incorrectly 
there. The Palace was erected in 1603 by Cardinal 
Scipio Borghese on the site of the Baths of Constan- 
tine. Later it passed into the hands of the princes 
Rospigliosi. It is now the seat of the French envoy to 
the Vatican. On the ceiling of its principal chamber is 
the famous Aurora of Guido Reni. I was vainly stretch- 



58 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ing my neck and thrusting back my head in order to get 
a better view of this immortal painting, when a guide 
touched me on the shoulder and pointed to a small 
Claude Lorraine mirror standing on the floor and resting 
back against the wall, and with this help I found to my 
great delight and unspeakable comfort that I could see 
most perfectly that noblest work of Guido. " Painters 
maintain ", writes Mendelssohn, in his letters from 
Rome, " that the painting is lighted from two sides, — 
they have my full permission to light theirs from three 
if it will improve them, but the difference lies elsewhere." 

Those Colonna Gardens, just in front of the Rospig-^ 
liosi Palace, occupy the site of Aurelian's celebrated 
Temple of the Sun, Tem r plum Solis Aureliani. The 
building itself covered one and a half acres, and in addi- 
tion to this it had a vast portico surrounded by hanging 
gardens. The structure was erected in honor of the 
triumph achieved over Zenobia of Palmyra. 

In front of the gardens and nearer to us is the Colon- 
na Palace, which can be seen plainly if you look first at 
the Quirinal, then at the Rospigliosi, the massive palace 
to the right, then at the Gardens in front of this palace, 
and lastly at the Colonna Palace, which is in front of the 
Gardens. 

This last palace does not seem so imposing as the 
Rospigliosi, although in reality it is more so, because it 
occupies a less commanding position, being on lower 
ground. We will not speak further of the Colonna 
Palace here, because later on we shall visit one of its 



BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN. 59 

magnificent salons and can inspect it then to better ad- 
vantage. 

If now we look over the northern limit of the Quirinal 
grounds you can see dark masses which represent the 
massive walls of the Baths of Diocletian. Their loca- 
tion is given on the map nearly a half-mile beyond the 
Quirinal. These baths are said to have contained three 
thousand marble basins, besides a swimming tank, pis- 
cina, with an area of twenty-five thousand square feet. 
The entire structure, which was erected by Diocletian in 
A. D. 306, covered a space of one hundred and fifty 
thousand square yards. 

It is stated by some authorities that forty thousand Christians 
were engaged in carrying on the work of its construction. Michel- 
angelo, acting under the commands of Pope Pius IV, that pro- 
digious builder, converted the great oblong hall of the Baths — i. e., 
the tepidarium — into the nave of a church. The result was one 
of the handsomest and most stately edifices in Rome, the gigantic 
columns, still remaining, being worthy to support the noble span 
and ample rotundity of the enormous vault above. It was called 
S. Maria degli Angeli, the Church of St. Mary of the Angels. 
The church is now owned by the municipality of Rome, and it 
was there that the present King of Italy, when still Prince of 
Naples, was married. 

In that church, St. Mary of the Angels, there is a re- 
markable meridian line laid down on the mosaic pave- 
ment. Standing in the transept of the building, one sees 
a beam of sunshine creeping over the shadowy floor, 
but precisely at noon a golden thread of light shoots 



60 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

through a small hole in the roof and falls upon a par- 
ticular line that crosses the polished floor, and then 
slowly, silently glides away as the sun is westering, un- 
til it is lost among the deepening shadows which flank 
the gigantic walls built by a heathen emperor, long 
centuries since. 

Nearer to us and yet somewhat beyond the Quirinal 
Palace, but not clearly seen from here because of loftier 
structures intervening, is the Church and Convent of 
the Cappucini, but as we shall subsequently visit their 
ghastly cemetery together, it is not necessary to linger 
now. (See map.) 

If you will look over the middle arch of that bridge 
which crosses the Tiber beyond the Castle of St. Angelo, 
you will see the white roof of a church, S. Andrea delle 
Fratte. It is found on the map about an inch above the 
Quirinal. In the street which runs along the north side 
of this church, the Via di Capo le Case, lived the cele- 
brated sculptor, William Story, whose Cleopatra forms 
so interesting a work of art in Hawthorne's Transfor- 
mation or Marble Faun, and right out there on that same 
street, the eminent writer and ambassador, James Rus- 
sell Lowell, also an American, had apartments; and a 
few steps away, Mrs. Oliphant, the gifted English author- 
ess lived for some time. 

Crossing the Via di Capo le Case, two* or three streets beyond 
the church, is the Via Sistina, on which Robert Browning and his 
wife had their home, and there also for many years the Danish 
sculptor, Thorwaldsen, had his studio. When Sir Walter Scott 



ROMAN CHARACTERISTICS. 6 1 

was in Rome he was very desirous of meeting the great sculptor. 
An appointment was made for the meeting in the artist's studio. 
Thorwaldsen did not understand English, and Scott could not 
speak Danish or Italian. So when they were presented, they shook 
hands and looked at one another with great interest, but neither 
spoke a word, but nevertheless each seemed to understand and 
appreciate what was in the other's mind. Thorwaldsen showed 
the Briton the works of art contained in his studio, making ex- 
planations through an interpreter. The author expressed his great 
appreciation of what he saw, and highly complimented the man 
who breathed life into cold marble. 

In that part of the city there is scarcely a house that has not 
a painter's studio near its roof or a sculptor's studio in its base- 
ment; and one frequently meets girls, in their quaint mountain 
costume, climbing to the topmost floor to sit as models for the 
painters, or again, a sunburnt shepherd, in his sheepskin jacket 
and gaily-colored blouse, leading his wolf-dog thither for the 
same purpose; and it is not an unheard of thing for even a don- 
key to be led up the stairs. 

Immediately north of the Royal Stables is the Piazza Barberini, 
Thirty years and more ago, not far from this Piazza, was an ob- 
scure osteria where Peppo, a famous Italian cook, gave excellent 
dinners, with wonderful macaroni and capital wine. Story, the 
sculptor, tells of a visit that he made to this restaurant with a 
little party of artists and poets. It brings out some striking char- 
acteristics of the common people of Italy. While they ate and 
drank, a mandolin " tingled and quivered " and a guitar made a 
low accompaniment to their talk. They went in their worst 
clothes and most crumpled hats so as to attract as little at- 
tention as possible, for laborers and artisans were the frequenters 
of the place. In speaking of the visit afterwards, the sculptor 
says : 

" So being in the humor, we called for some improvisations, 
and the mandolin and guitar began an air and accompaniment in 
' ottava rima ' ; after a minute or two one of the men at the head 



62 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

of the table opposite broke out in a low voice and sang or rather 
chanted a strophe; and scarcely had the instruments finished the 
little ritornello, when another answered him in a second strophe; 
to this he responded, and so alternately, for some time, the im- 
provisation went on without a break. Then suddenly there rose 
from the opposite end a third person, a carter, who poured out two 
or three strophes without stopping, and after him still another 
carter broke in, so that we had four persons improvising in alter- 
ations. This lasted a full half hour, and during the whole time 
there was not a pause or hesitation. The language used was un- 
commonly good, and the ideas were of a character you would 
little have anticipated from such a company. The themes were 
art, love, poetry and music, and some of the recitations were 
original and spirited. Out of Italy, could anything like this be 
seen? " 

Now if we look to the extreme left we see to the north 
of the Quirinal Palace a dark open space. That is the 
Pincian Hill. That spacious marble building resting on 
the hillside is the famous Villa Medici, built in 1560 for 
Cardinal Ricci da Montepuleiano. It came into the pos- 
session of Cardinal Alessandro de Medici about 1600, 
iater it belonged to the grand dukes of Tuscany. Final- 
ly it was presented by Napoleon I in 1800 to the French 
Academy of Art. Since that time it has been used as an 
Art School of France. It can be seen from all parts of 
the city and is distinguished by the two pavilions rising 
over a broad and clear facade. From the side of the 
city, the villa has a cold and barrack-like look, with 
windows of stern regularity. This monotony is relieved, 
at close observation, by a collection of bas-reliefs, the 
precious fragments of antique sculpture. The opposite 



THE VILLA MEDICI. 63 

side of the villa, the one facing the Pincian Hill and 
Gardens is most beautiful; its facade, with a spacious 
portico sustained on noble columns is guarded by 
couchant lions and the whole dominated by two stunted, 
balconied towers. The rear view which we see is in 
striking contrast with the side which faces the city. The 
garden side of the villa is said to be the work of Michel- 
angelo. To one wandering about the charming gardens 
which surround this mansion it is interesting to recall 
the legend which says that frequently, at sunset, there 
rises at the window of this villa the face of a man who 
lived there for a while and who, for the truth he advanced, 
was condemned and imprisoned, Galileo Galilei. 

In ancient days where this villa stands, including also the site 
of the present Pincian Gardens, was the magnificent villa of Lu- 
cullus, one of the wealthiest Romans in the last days of the Re- 
public. Once when Pompey the Great was sick he longed for a 
thrush, and ordered some for his dinner. None could be procured 
in the market, and he was told that Lucullus had some in his avi- 
ary, out there on the Pincian Hill. But Lucullus was, of all men, 
the one to whom he did not wish to be obligated, and he refused 
to ask for one of the birds, exclaiming : 4 * What ! is my life to 
hang on the luxury of Lucullus ? No; I would rather die. Cook 
me something else." It is recorded that Cicero was more than 
once entertained by Lucullus in this villa, and there its owner 
planted the first cherry tree brought from Asia to Europe. 

Memorable spots are so numerous in this place be- 
fore us, so many wonderful deeds have been done here 
for good or bad, that we might go on almost indefinite- 



64 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ly. The more objects of interest we pick out, the more 
the events that have transpired here in the past crowd 
upon us. Thousands of books would not give the his- 
tory of this city. Every part* of it is eloquent with its 
own peculiar story. We can only hope in this short time 
to become so tolerably familiar with this section of the 
earth's surface that hereafter whenever we read of things 
that have transpired in this place, we shall be able to 
carry ourselves in thought to their location as we think 
of the scene of any important event in our own native city. 
How our interest in uncovering the great past grows, 
how much more intensely real the old stories become 
because we can look out here and see the very building 
or place, in its natural surroundings, where each famous 
deed was done! No one can appreciate this who has 
not studied such a place until he begins to feel inti- 
mately familiar with the exact location of its scores of 
domes and housetops and streets. 

Before we turn in a new direction, let us think of this 
place briefly as it appeared in the five great epochs of its 
history. During the period of the Kings, 753-509 B. C, 
we know that at first the level tract of land from the 
Tiber to the Quirinal and from the Pincian Hill to the 
Pantheon and beyond, was only farm land. Under the 
Tarquin kings we remember it was covered with broad 
corn fields, a sea of plenty, swept by long, golden billows, 
as the grain bent beneath the balmy breeze of a bright 
summer day. Then came the expulsion of the Tarquinii 
and the mad impulsive harvesting when the grain was 



THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 65 

Hung into the river; and then, amid weird chant and 
smoking sacrifice, the whole broad space was dedicated 
to Mars, the god of war, becoming thus the Campus 
Martius, the training ground for Rome's armies. Later 
on in the Republic, 509-31 B. C, it became the meeting 
place of the people in their assembly known as Comitia 
Centuriata, in which free citizens voted for the various 
magistrates, such as consuls, praetors, and quaestors. 
The temple of Apollo was built there and dedicated in 
439 B. C. ; the Via Flaminia, the great northern road 
from Rome, was built across it in 220 B. C. Many public 
buildings and temples were erected in this section in the 
direction of the T.iber. Out there Pompey reared his sen- 
ate-house and the temple-crowned theatre, together with a 
sumptuous dwelling for himself. He still further embel- 
lished the plain by erecting vast marble porticoes so that 
it was possible to pass beneath them from one end of the 
plain to the other and not be exposed to the rays of the 
sun. Lovely gardens and shady groves were scattered 
through them all. During the Empire, 31 B. C.-476 
A. D., many buildings were erected. We can see what 
were the main structures by consulting our map, 
" Ancient Rome in the Time of the Emperors. " 
Augustus began his Mausoleum, the remains of which 
can be seen just over the Castle of S. Angelo, in 29 B. C. 
Then Agrippa built his great temple on the ruins of 
which Hadrian reared the Pantheon, and this was fol- 
lowed by the construction of race courses and triumphal 
arches and in 273 A. D. the great " Temple of the Sun/' 



66 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

And yet, ever in the midst of all these architectural monu- 
ments, as grand as any ever seen, there was always re- 
served space for the training and exercise of soldiers. 

Then in the last rough and brutal centuries of the 
Empire, and the long period of the history of Rome up 
to the end of the Holy Roman Empire (476-1806 A. D.), 
this part of Rome passed through many disasters of 
earthquakes and inundations and was the scene of fierce 
strife. Nearly all this plain, thickly covered with palaces 
and churches and towers, intersected by a labyrinth of 
crooked streets, flanked, for the most part, by miserable 
dwellings, became the battle ground of the Colonna and 
the Corsini, champions respectively of the Emperors and 
the Popes. This condition of things was destined to be 
succeeded, as we know, by the coming of Victor Em- 
manuel to the Quirinal in 1870 and the preservation of 
this plain much as we see it to-day. 

But in considering what is more distant from us we 
are not to forget that we are standing in midair with 
the vast dome of the greatest church the Christian re- 
ligion has produced beneath us. Now for a time we are 
going to direct our attention to this part of the city 
which is immediately about us and especially to this great 
Church and the immense palace of the Vatican which 
lies to our left farther than we can now see. All of 
Rome, on this the west side of the Tiber, is divided into 
two distinct quarters : that to the south, in the midst of 
which we stood when on the Janiculum, is the Traste- 
vere; this quarter in which we now are, is the Borgo, or 



THE BORGO. 67 

quarter of the Vatican. During the period of the Kings 
and the Republic there was nothing of importance in this 
section. During the Empire it was covered with gar- 
dens of the emperors and in the time of Nero a circus 
was built on the very spot beneath us upon which this 
church of St. Peter's now stands. Here it was Nero 
subjected the early Christians to such revolting cruelties 
in 65 A. D. So this greatest of Christian churches was 
built over the spot that witnessed the first shameful 
martyrdoms in Rome. In the second century Hadrian 
built his tomb which we have noticed before over half 
a mile from us on the upper bank of the Tiber. Later 
it was made into a fortress and since the 6th century, 
when it was called the Castle of St. Angelo, it has been 
in a sense the citadel of Rome. Whoever possessed it 
was master of the city. In letting your eyes wander over 
these nearer housetops, you cannot have failed, I imagine, 
to light upon that covered way which runs from the 
Vatican Palace, down on our left, though we have not 
yet seen it, along by the outer pillars of the left hand 
colonnade and bending in and out among the forest of 
dwellings until, finally, it is lost at the terrace and outer 
wall of the Castle of St. Angelo. That passageway was 
constructed in 1410 by John XXIII in order to afford 
greater security to the pontiffs who could thus, in times 
of danger, leave the Vatican unobserved and find refuge 
in the formidable castle. Along that gloomy corridor 
many a high church dignitary has fled for his life in the 
struggles of the middle ages. 



68 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

After the founding of St. Peter's, foreign pilgrims be- 
gan to start settlements near by. As this whole region 
was not enclosed by the city walls, it was especially ex- 
posed to all invasions and hence Leo IV surrounded it 
(848-852) with a wall. It was then called the Leonine 
city in honor of Leo IV. The walls were many times de- 
stroyed, but after the return of the Popes from France in 
1377 this section enjoyed an era of prosperity and growth, 
reaching its height in the sixteenth century. Since then 
the papal court has been unable to draw the business of 
the city on this side of the river. For the most part a 
rather poor population, engaged in the humbler kinds 
of trade, live beneath the house roofs we see. An archi- 
tect here in the city told me that a house down there on 
that corner near the end of the left colonnade could in 
all probability be bought for six thousand dollars. Until 
Sixtus V in the sixteenth century, the Borgo belonged to 
the Popes ; at that time it was incorporated with the city. 
But, as we might as well point out here as anywhere, by a 
decree of May 17th, 1871, the Vatican, the Lateran, the 
Church of S. M. Maggiore and three other places, the 
Castle Gandolfo near the Alban Lake, the Cancelleria, and 
the Dataria Palace were placed by the Italian Government 
under the absolute jurisdiction of the Pope, thereby being 
considered as forming no part of the political kingdom of 
Italy. 

Soon we are going down to the roof of that house 
which stands at the end of the colonnade on, our right. 
From that roof we shall look back to this dome and 



THE VATICAN. 69 

church upon which we are standing. First, however, 
keeping our position on the dome, we are to turn almost 
directly to our left and look down upon the greatest palace 
in the world. Consulting the general map of Rome again, 
we find two red lines which extend from the black out- 
line of St. Peter's in a northerly direction to the upper 
map margin, having there the figure 5 at the end of 
each. Thus we know precisely what part of the city we 
are to look upon. These lines are found also on the 
special map of " St. Peter's and the Vatican." From now 
on, while we are around those buildings, this smaller 
map is to be used continually. 

5. The Great Pontifical Palace, the Vatican, 
Northeast from St. Peter 9 s f Rome. 

Here then is the Vatican, the Palace of the Popes. Ofif 
to our right, we know, is the great, broad city of Rome, 
with its mass of buildings and ruins collected there dur- 
ing all the long centuries. Farther than we can see on 
our left are the Tuscan Hills, which we have already seen 
from the Cosmedin church (Stereograph No. 1), and 
winding down before us in the distance is the old Tiber ; 
but here, at our feet, in the midst of these most venerable 
surroundings, established upon the ruins of an empire, 
is this remarkable palace in perfect repair. First, it is 
the greatest palace in the world in its material propor- 
tions. The enormous extent of its mass of buildings may 
be better estimated, perhaps, by noticing those specks of 



70 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

human forms in the square beyond the palace to the right. 
It is only in some such way that we can hope to appreci- 
ate the statement that the palace is eleven hundred and 
fifty-one feet long, seven hundred and sixty-seven feet 
wide, that it contains eight grand staircases, two hundred 
smaller ones, and twenty courts which occupy about half 
of the entire area. 

But far more than material greatness distinguishes 
this place. " There is no palace in the world which ap- 
proaches the Vatican in interest, whether we regard its 
prominent position in the history of the church, or the 
influence exercised by its collections on the learning and 
taste of Christendom for nearly three hundred years." 
Speaking alone of the manuscripts and books carefully 
preserved beneath those tiled roofs, another writer says : 
" No other library has the history, or the value of the 
famous collection of the Vatican. To no other spot do 
the longings of classical and historical scholars, of librari- 
ans, photographers go out as to that secluded and long- 
forbidden reading-room in the east arm of the Palace of 
the Popes." 

Before we proceed to familiarize ourselves with the 
chief departments in this storehouse of treasure, let us 
go back and think briefly of its great past. We might 
cast only a glance or so at these sturdy buildings, bathed 
in the afternoon sun, and turn away with the thought 
that it was not worth our while to spend any more time 
upon them. But that would be a reflection on ourselves, 
not on the historic palace. 



THE TECHNIQUE OF REST. 7 1 

We are reminded here of what was so well said by Miss Anna 
Brackett in regard to great art works, in her book, " The Tech- 
nique of Rest." 

" It is never to be forgotten that it is the rest of the world and 
not you that holds the great share of the world's wealth, and 
that you must allow yourself to be acted upon by the world if 
you would become a sharer in the gain of all the ages to your 
infinite advantage. Many lose all the possible benefits to be won 
by travel because they have not the necessary passivity. You 
should go to the picture galleries and museums of sculpture to 
be acted upon, and not to express or try to form your own per- 
fectly futile opinion. It makes no difference to you or to the 
world what you may think of any great work of art. This is 
not the question; the point is how it affects you. The picture is 
the judge of your capacity, not you of its excellence. The world 
has, long ago, perhaps, passed upon it, and now it is for the 
work to estimate you. If, without knowing that a certain picture 
is from the hand of a great master, you find yourself wonderfully 
attracted by it, and drawn to it over and over again, you may be 
glad that its verdict upon you is favorable." 

So then if it is our wish to become a sharer in the gain of all 
the ages to our infinite advantage, we must try with a wise 
passivity and with an inquiring mind to open ourselves to the 
wonderous things such a place as the one before us has seen and 
known. As we now stop for only a brief look over the past v/e 
shall be reminded of the limits of our own small capacity and 
more and more of the infinite wealth of interest attaching to this 
palace. 

It is probable that a residence for some of the Church Fathers 
was established here in the early centuries after Christ. Con- 
stancine the Great, after the defeat of Maxentius, caused a 
Basilica to be erected over the tomb of St. Peter, and it was this 
church of Constantine that stood here until the present Basilica 
of St. Peter's, upon which we are standing, was begun in 1506, 
under Julius II. It was in connection, too, with that church of 



72 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Constantine, it is believed, that the first home for a church 
official was built, down where these nearer Vatican buildings 
stand. The first Vatican Palace was built by Pope Symmachus 
(498-514), and some say it. was used by Charlemagne at his cor- 
onation, but a new Church residence was begun in 1150 by Eugene 
III. A surrounding wall was built by Innocent III, some fifty 
years later. In 1278, the building was enlarged by Nicholas III. 
For nearly one thousand years after Emperor Constantine pre- 
sented the Lateran Palace on the Cselian Hill to St. Sylvester, 
the bishop of Rome, early in the 4th century, the Popes had 
resided there. On the return of Gregory XI from Avignon in 
1377, he chose this place as his residence, and here the Papal 
residence has been ever since. From that time until to-day, then, 
this has been the centre of the great Roman Catholic Church, 
which meant, until the Reformation, the centre of the Christian 
religion. All the offices of the Papal government and the resi- 
dences of the Cardinals have been located here. One Pope after 
another has tried to outdo his predecessor in making this palace 
the largest and most beautiful in the world and in every way 
worthy of its position at the head of the Christian Church. In 
accomplishing so great a purpose, the political power, the learn- 
ing, and the artistic genius of the race have been laid under 
tribute. 

When the Popes came back from Avignon in 1377, their 
power in temporal matters, we remember, had been greatly less- 
ened. Under Innocent III (1198-1216) they had possessed the 
greatest political as well as spiritual power in all Europe. From 
that time down to 1377 the extent of their authority as temporal 
rulers began to wane, and it continued to decrease until 1870, 
when the State and Church became entirely separated. Victor 
Emmanuel centred all the political control of Italy in him- 
self as King while the Pope retained his absolute authority in 
religious matters. It is very difficult for us to conceive of the 
power over the many activities of man which even then centred 



ART AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 73 

in this small plot of land. Kings and earthly potentates still con- 
tinued to bow to the power of the Church, as thousands of the 
most costly gifts treasured within those walls declare. 

In this Palace of the Vatican we are impressed with the fact 
that art has done much to add glory to the Christian Faith. Art, 
which had grown through many vicissitudes to a marvelous per- 
fection in Greece and had made its way to Italy in the time of 
the Republic and the Empire, which languished in the times of 
corruption that followed, which was stirred into life again in 
Florence during the 16th century, in the " Great Awakening " 
— art was seized upon by this great religious power, was de- 
flected to this palace, and beneath those roofs and amid these 
surroundings it attained its most sublime achievements. Michel- 
angelo, Raphael, Bramante, " everlasting beacons in the path of 
art," all worked here to exalt Christianity. Michelangelo set 
himself to show in his great paintings how salvation came into 
the world, how it was proclaimed, and then as the final scene, the 
" Last Judgment." Raphael devoted his surpassing genius to the 
struggles and successes of the early Church. Bramante applied 
himself to the plans for St. Peter's, the most magnificent building 
in all the world, as a monument to the faith of the Nazarene. 
And not alone art but learning performed its part in the same 
cause. Beginning with Nicholas V, 1447, the choicest products 
of the world's scholarship were from time to time brought to this 
centre of religious power, until as we have said, no library in 
the world is its equal in value or renown. 

In the first coming of the Christian faith, governments, stu- 
dents of art and learning, all ignored it, then ridiculed it, and 
finally persecuted it; but in the strange irony of history, as the 
centuries went on, here in this Vatican were found the powers 
of government, the noblest art, and the evidences of the greatest 
learning of all the world. Throughout the future whoever would 
trace the history of these great activities of man must pass this 
way. 



74 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Surely we shall want to get in mind the main compart- 
ments in these historic buildings before we descend from 
our lofty position. Indeed, this is the only place from 
which it is possible to get a clear conception of the gen- 
eral plan of the Vatican buildings. Being able to stand 
here first, we shall have a wonderful advantage over the 
average tourist who remembers the Vatican only as a con- 
fused jumble of rooms, corridors and galleries, never hav- 
ing seen different rooms in their relations to the building 
as a whole, and never having a true conception of the 
points of the compass in all its aimless wanderings. When 
he is about to leave the palace, he admits that he is " com- 
pletely turned about " in all his ideas of the place, and, 
in fact, he would find it impossible to give friends at home 
any accurate description of the vast structure or the re- 
lation of its various parts. This confused and disappoint- 
ing impression is partly occasioned by the fact that vis- 
itors are only admitted to a portion of the palace, and 
their knowledge therefore must be partial and superficial. 
It is otherwise, however, when at the very outset you 
can look down upon it all as we are doing and fix in your 
minds the general scheme of the entire structure. You 
can see that the palace, as a whole, extends due north and 
south, though we are looking somewhat east of north. 
It is built, as you observe, about two great courtyards, 
with a smaller one intervening into which, on account of 
the height of the south transverse building, we cannot 
look. The large courtyard nearest us is called the Court 
of the Belvedere, and is adorned with shrubs and flowers ; 



GARDEN OF THE PIGNA. 75 

the large courtyard at the further end of the palace is 
called the Garden of the Pigna, and contains some in- 
teresting relics to which we shall refer later. Beginning 
at the building nearest us down on the right (it is part of 
St. Peter's great dome which juts out near us on the left), 
our eyes immediately rest upon that peaked, tiled roof, 
with the slender finger of a lightning rod raised at one 
end. That is the roof of the Sistine Chapel, beneath which 
we shall presently stand and contemplate some of the 
greatest paintings in the world, masterpieces of Michel- 
angelo. That chapel is considerably older than the pres- 
ent Church of St. Peter's, having been built in 1473, by 
Sixtus IV, hence its name. 

The nearest corner of the main palace, whose roof is 
slightly raised above that of the long building attached 
to it, contains the Picture Galleries. But before designat- 
ing other portions of the palace we might as well stop at 
this point to fix clearly in mind the plan of the palace in 
respect to its different stories. So far as the interest of 
the public is concerned, we need consider only two 
stories in certain parts of the Vatican before us, and 
in others only one story. This long left-hand or west- 
ern portion appears to have four stories in the end 
nearest us, and three stories farther away. If we look to 
the extreme end of this western portion, however, we find 
only two stories. These two stories, extending clear across 
the building toward us, are of interest to the public. The 
top floor and the lowest floor at the end nearest us are 
closed to visitors. In the eastern portion of the palace to 



76 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the right of the nearest courtyard, we find four stories 
again, one extending only part way. Looking now to the 
north end of this eastern portion of the palace which is 
built on higher ground along the Garden of the Pigna, we 
find only one story. And, surprising as it may seem at 
first, if this story is traced back toward us, we see that 
its continuation is the third story facing the nearest court- 
yard. The other floors are all closed to the public. 

Coming back now to this corner nearest us we can say 
that the Galleries of Pictures are on the second and third 
floors. Among the many great paintings found in these 
rooms is Raphael's Transfiguration. The roof of the build- 
ing with the peak facing us, which joins on to the Gallery 
of Paintings at its longer or right-hand extremity, their 
eaves just touching, covers on its second floor from the 
top the Stanze of Raphael, which consists of four mag- 
nificent salons, containing the immortal frescoes of the 
great master, creations of art unrivaled in all the world 
except by this same painter's masterpieces on the ceiling 
of the Sistine Chapel. It is hard to believe, but such is 
the fact, that this great work was undertaken by Raphael 
when he was only twenty-five years of age. To the right 
of the Stanze of Raphael and the Sistine Chapel, outside 
the limits of our vision, is a group of irregular buildings 
containing the Sala Regia, which was built as an entrance 
hall to the Sistine Chapel and used, at one time, as a 
reception hall for foreign ambassadors ; the Sala Ducale ; 
the Pauline Chapel; the Loggia of Raphael; the Papal 
residence, including the Pope's apartments and those of 



VATICAN GARDENS. 77 

the seven cardinals who make up his official cabinet. The 
windows of the latter building we shall see when we take 
our next position in front of St. Peter's. 

Coming back again to this southwest corner nearest 
us it may interest you to learn that that small three-story 
wing jutting out to the left, having on the side facing 
us an open door with a rounded architrave surmounted 
by the Pope's coat of arms and with four windows 
above, is one of the entrances into the Vatican Gar- 
dens, some of the trees of which we see below us. That 
long, left-hand portion of the palace with the blinds shut 
to exclude the glaring light, contains on the lower one of 
its two main floors, which we have pointed out, the Biblio- 
teca, or Gallery of the Library, filled with many pieces 
of sculpture and closed cabinets stored with manuscripts. 
That is the longest room in the world, extending nearly 
the entire length of the palace, a distance of over a thou- 
sand feet. When we go down into the palace we shall 
standi in the corridor at the farther end and look back 
in this direction. The floor above the gallery of the library 
is divided into three sections; the section nearest us ex- 
tending the length of the first great court is the Gallery 
of Maps, the second section, bordering on the middle court, 
is the Gallery of the Arazzi, sometimes called Raphael's 
Bible, for the room contains tapestries executed from 
cartoons by Raphael representing New Testament 
scenes. The third section is the Gallery of the Can- 
delabra, filled mostly with fragments of sculpture. 

The transverse building at the extreme end of the 



78 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

farther courtyard, or the Garden of Pigna, which forms 
the northern end of the palace, contains many beautiful 
halls. On the lower floor is the Egyptian Museum; the 
charming hall of the Greek Cross ; the Rotunda, which is 
paved with mosaics from the Baths at Otricoli, and in 
the centre of its circular floor is a grand porphyry vase 
found in front of the Baths of Titus and presented to 
Pope Julius III. Besides these, it contains a bust 
of Jupiter, which is the finest preserved from the 
ruins of antiquity. Next to the Rotunda is the 
noble Hall of Muses, so called because of the Stat- 
ues of the Muses preserved there. From the Rotunda 
a corridor leads into the Hall of the Animals, containing 
statues of marble and alabaster, of which " Two Grey- 
hounds Playing " is famous. To the north of this hall is a 
door opening into the Gallery of Statues, once a summer- 
house of the Popes. On our way through the palace we 
shall see this most interesting gallery as well as the Court 
of the Belvedere, which, as our map shows, is in the east- 
ern part of that group of buildings. In the centre of the 
Court of the Belvedere is a fountain, and around it are 
famous statues, the most illustrious of which are the 
Apollo Belvedere, found nearly four hundred years ago, 
near Crota Ferrata, and from which the court is named, 
the noted Mercury, considered one of the most beautiful 
statues in the world, and the renowned Laocoon. The last 
of these we will see later on. The upper floor of that 
transverse section forming the extreme northern end of the 
palace is occupied by the Etruscan Museum and the Hall 



SEMICIRCLE OF THE PIGNA. 79 

of the Biga. The great semicircular niche seen in that 
group of buildings is known as the Semicircle of the 
Pigna, from a gigantic statue of a huge fir cone which it 
contains, and from which also the courtyard is named. 
That fir cone, eleven feet high, to which Dante likened 
Nimrod's head seen by him through the mist in his vision 
of hell, formerly adorned the summit of Hadrian's tomb, 
now the Castle of St. Angelo. On either side of this Pigna 
are two magnificent peacocks, which stood on either side 
of the entrance to Hadrian's tomb. In the centre of the 
Garden of the Pigna is the pedestal of the column of An- 
tonius Pius, which was found nearly two hundred years 
ago on Mount Citorio, not far from the Pantheon. This 
is adorned with reliefs showing the apotheosis of the Em- 
peror and his wife Faustina. In that place also stands 
a pillar surmounted by a bronze statue of St. Peter, 
which was placed there in 1886 to commemorate the 
Council of 1870. 

Now we will give our attention to the long eastern 
building of the palace, whose northern portion, forming 
the right-hand boundary of the Pigna Garden, is the Mu- 
seum Chiaramonti. This museum is divided into thirty 
sections containing more than three hundred marble sculp- 
tures. The southern portion of that floor of the palace, 
which borders on the garden which is nearest us, that is, 
on the east, is the Galleria Lapidaria, or Gallery of In- 
scriptions, where there are more than three thousand 
pagan and early Christian inscriptions. The Greek and 
Latin pagan inscriptions are ranged along this western 



80 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

side of the gallery, while the inscriptions of the early 
Christians are placed on the eastern side. The two collec- 
tions of inscriptions present a striking contrast to each 
other. On the Christian side, instead of vain prayers to 
the gods and invocations to the earth to rest lightly on the 
dead, we find inspiring Christian symbols, such as the vine, 
the dove with the olive branch, the anchor of hope, the 
palm and the ship, touching expressions of pure faith, and 
allusions to everlasting rest in eternal life. 

There are only two sections of the palace left for us to 
consider, the two middle transverse buildings inclosing 
the centre courtyard. The more distant of these build- 
ings is the Braccio Nuovo, which you observe is roofed 
with tunnel vaulting, being thus lighted from above. It 
is a fine hall two hundred and fifty feet long, and filled 
with gems of sculpture. The nearer building contains on 
its upper floor the Library of the Vatican. We shall soon 
enjoy a visit to this splendid hall. We are to stand in the 
western end of the Library, and look toward the east. 
The famous reading room is located beneath the roof seen 
on the east side of the centre court, and between the Brac- 
cio Nuovo and the Library. There for many years Father 
Ehrle has presided over the readers with kindly interest 
and unfailing courtesy. The Library is closed on Sun- 
days and Thursdays and all feast days, and from the end 
of June to the middle of October. The hours are from 
9 to i in the fall and winter, and 8 to 12 in the spring. 
In that room during these hours you can see representa- 
tives of all the nations of Europe, men of all professions, 



VATICAN GARDENS. 8 1 

priests, famous editors and professors. During the recess 
of the German universities the place is crowded. 

Now leaving the Pontifical Palace, notice that to the 
left of the mass of buildings the larger gardens of the 
Vatican begin; the black shadows cast by its lofty trees 
upon the marble walls of the palace are noticeable. 

The Pope, in order to reach these gardens, walks along 
the Galleria Lapidaria, crosses the Braccio Nuovo, turns 
into the Corridor of the Library, and passes out into the 
gardens by a door at the northwest corner of the courtyard 
of the Pigna. 

By and by we shall enter the Vatican Gardens and 
look along the shady roads and paths, and then we shall 
understand, as we cannot now, how it is that in the hot, 
stifling days of the long Italian summer the Pope finds 
rest and vigor in this enchanted spot. 

Before we leave our position above this stupendous 
dome, which is a vantage-ground of wide and far distant 
vision, you, no doubt, have a question you would like to 
ask about the rows of buildings beyond the palace, back 
of which is the broad, level field through which flows the 
Tiber. 

In order to answer this question clearly, we will begin 
off to the right. The low row of cottages seen over the 
southeastern corner of the Vatican are occupied by labor- 
ers, a small army of whom are employed about the palace. 
Those long rows of buildings, some of which are near 
the open field, and others still farther to the right, con- 
structed with mathematical regularity, and perforated 



82 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

with countless windows, the whole being altogether de- 
void of ornamentation, are barracks for the Italian sol- 
diers and police. I can count seven of these huge struc- 
tures. The general map of Rome gives the plan of this 
military community. The open field is used as a parade 
and drill ground, known as the Champ de Mars. 

The rows of fine, modern houses between the barracks 
and the palace, with parapeted roofs, are almost entirely 
uninhabited, their construction being the result of the 
building craze which swept over Rome some fifteen or 
twenty years ago. New thoroughfares were opened up 
all over the city, and wherever these went, there followed 
an unprecedented boom in real estate. Old streets were 
widened and straightened, and many an ancient structure 
was leveled to the ground. There was about the whole 
undertaking a recklessness, prodigality and stupidity such 
as no city in the world has ever witnessed. So high did 
the delirium run, that buying and building were without 
limit. There seemed to be a universal determination to 
make modern Rome outrival the city of the Caesars. New 
sections of the city sprang up in mushroom growth, even 
though there was no one who would live in the buildings. 
With a population of half a million inhabitants in the city, 
they confidently expected a million and built for them, 
but they never came. 

These buildings were not homes for laborers, modest flats for 
people having small means, but, as you can see, — and these 
houses before us are but a fair sample of the rest — they were fine 



BUILDING CRAZE. 8$ 

structures, lofty and spacious. The money to build these houses 
had been borrowed at high rates of interest from Italian bankers 
who had procured the funds from French banking houses. After- 
ward, France, learning of Italy's alliance with Germany, with- 
drew her loans, amounting to over eight hundred millions of 
francs, and the disaster which followed nearly ruined the Roman 
people. If the Government had not compelled the Italian banks 
to be lenient with the people, famine and revolution would have 
shaken the kingdom into ruins. Forty thousand men were 
thrown out of employment, rows of empty and half-finished 
houses lined the grass-grown streets and millions of dollars were 
lost. 



Is this building craze in the very atmosphere here, so 
that whoever possesses the city must build and build, 
without regard to size or utility? Is this the spirit — prov- 
ing either a blessing or a curse — which for all the ages has 
held sway here in Rome, to which the existence of the 
Colosseum and the Quirinal, and those deserted buildings 
yonder, and even St. Peter's and this vast Vatican, may 
be attributed ? 

Turning to the general map of Rome, we find that our 
next position is to be on a house-roof in front of St. 
Peter's colonnade. From that point we are to look back 
west to the great church and the dome beneath us. On 
the map entitled " St. Peter's and the Vatican," our 
position is given in the lower margin from which point 
two red lines extend to the west or upper margin of the 
map, showing the limits of our next field of vision. 



84 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

6. St. Peter's and the Vatican — Greatest of 
Churches, Greatest of Palaces — Rome. 

Here at the very threshold of the most renowned church 
and most spacious palace on earth, the first object that 
strikes our gaze is that of a girl hanging out clothes ! I 
never visited a place where the inhabitants seem so bent 
on washing clothes as they do here, and they seem to pre- 
fer to hang them out to dry in the most historical and most 
conspicuous places, as if to show their contempt for world- 
ly pride and bygone greatness. I have seen the banners 
and bannerets of the laundry kingdom floating around 
the Pantheon and the Roman Forum, and almost flopping 
against Trajan's Column and the Castle of St. Angelo. 

We are glad, however, to see this sun-blackened young 
Roman laundress, a very type of the land, in her striking 
and picturesque costume. The white muslin sleeves ex- 
tend from shoulder to elbow, and some darker material 
forms the deep cuff that covers the forearm and con- 
stitutes the waist. And could there be anything more 
light and airy than that unique sunshade which she wears 
on her head and which falls down over her neck and be- 
tween her shoulders, thus protecting the back of her head 
from the fierce rays of the sun ? 

But what of our position here ? We are standing on a 
fairly high house-top, as can be seen by comparing our 
elevation with those five-story houses to the left of us. 

Just beyond those houses we catch a glimpse of the 
southern row of the colonnade, but only that part of it 
which is straight. On our right we see most of the north- 



PIAZZA RUSTICUCCI. 85 

ern colonnade with three of the four columns at the end. 
That tallest building bathed in sunlight beyond the colon- 
nade to the extreme right contains the personal apartments 
of the Pope and his cabinet of cardinals. The tall building 
just to the left of this and in the shadow forms the west 
side of the Court of Damasus, seen on our map, and con- 
tains on the second floor the famous Loggia of Raphael. 
Between this building, containing the Loggia and St. 
Peter's, can be seen the roof of the Sistine Chapel out- 
lined against the sky. The greater portion of the Vati- 
can Palace we know must extend directly off to the north 
or to the right behind the buildings. 

Only by careful observation and comparison will we 
be able to gain any proper estimate of the mammoth pro- 
portions of the structures before us. Strange to say, 
these nearby houses on our left are not so much higher 
than Bernini's splendid colonnades, and, in truth, the four- 
story houses on the right of the square below us are not 
so high, and serve admirably to bring out the noble pro- 
portions of the massive columns. Notice how the resi- 
dence of the Pope looms up above the colonnade, and 
then how the wonderful dome of St. Peter's lifts itself 
so grandly over them all. This nearby square directly 
in front and below us and extending to the ends of the 
colonnade is called the Piazza Rusticucci, and the house 
in which Raphael lived, and where he died, stood on the 
spot where the right colonnade ends. This house of the 
great artist was removed in order to make room for the 
colonnade, and while we regret its departure, perhaps it 



S6 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

does not matter much since, near by, in that more en- 
during house of the Vatican, are treasured his brilliant 
and immortal achievements. When Raphael died, he 
gave this house to the church and requested that his 
tomb in the Pantheon be kept perpetually in repair. 

To me those rows of gigantic pillars have always 
seemed like giant soldiers marching and countermarching 
on that grandest of parade grounds, the Piazza of St. 
Peter's. To see them as we have done and are doing, 
is vastly better than being told that they number 
two hundred and eighty- four; that they are sixty- four 
feet high, and that the rows are sixty-one feet wide, form- 
ing three covered passageways, the one in the centre hav- 
ing space for two carriages to drive through abreast. The 
effect of this great church is wonderfully enhanced by 
these peerless colonnades. 

The pavement of the Piazza alone cost nearly one hun- 
dred thousand dollars, equal in purchasing power in 
America to double that amount; and two hundred thou- 
sand soldiers, infantry, cavalry and artillery, can stand 
upon it. 

One cannot look upon this wide space, adorned as it is with 
all the elements of architectural grandeur, without recalling the 
great religious ceremonies which have taken place here, especially 
at Easter time, but which, since the Italian occupation, have been 
discontinued. Shall we try and recall one of these great cere- 
monies with an eye witness? 

" Out over the great balcony stretches a wide awning, where 
priests and attendants are collected, and where the Pope will 



piazza of ST. peter's. 87 

soon be seen. Below, the Piazza is alive with moving masses. 
In the centre are drawn up long lines of soldiery, with yellow 
and red pompons, and glittering helmets and bayonets. These 
are surrounded by crowds on foot, and at the outer rim are 
packed carriages filled and overrun with people, mounted on 
the seats and boxes. What a sight is this! — above us the great 
dome of St. Peter's, and below, the grand embracing colonnade, 
and the vast space, in the centre of which rises the silent obelisk, 
thronged with masses of living beings. Peasants from the Cam- 
pagna and the mountains are moving about everywhere. Pil- 
grims in oilcloth capes and with iron staff demand charity. On 
the steps are rows of purple, blue and brown umbrellas, for there 
the sun blazes fiercely. Everywhere crop forth the white hoods 
of Sisters of Charity, collected in groups, and showing, among 
the parti-colored dresses, like beds of chrysanthemums in a gar- 
den. One side of the massive colonnade casts a grateful shadow 
over the crowd beneath that fills up the intervals of its columns; 
but elsewhere the sun burns and flashes everywhere. Mounted 
on the colonnade are crowds of people leaning over beside the 
colossal statues. Through all the heat is heard the constant 
plash of the sunlit fountains, that wave to and fro their veils of 
white spray. At last the clock strikes. In the far balcony are 
seen the two great showy peacock fans, and between them a 
figure clad in white, that rises from a golden chair, and spreads 
his great sleeves like wings as he raises his arms in benediction. 
That is the Pope, Pius the Ninth. All is dead silence, and a 
musical voice, sweet and penetrating, is heard chanting from the 
balcony; — the people bend and kneel; with a cold gray flash all 
the bayonets gleam as the soldiers drop to their knees, and rise 
to salute as the voice dies away, and the two white wings are 
again waved; — then thunder the cannon, — the bells clash and 
peal joyously, a few white papers, like huge snowflakes, drop 
wavering from the balcony; — these are indulgences, and there is 
an eager struggle for them below; — then the Pope again rises, 
again gives his benediction, waving to and fro his right hand, 



88 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

three fingers open, and making the sign of the cross, — and the 
peacock fans retire and he between them is borne away, — and 
Lent is over." — Roba di Roma. 

T.hat obelisk, rising in the centre there like a stately 
sentinel we shall see to better advantage later, and 
will speak of it then; but just now let us observe the 
details of St. Peter's impressive fagade, which with its 
dome forms an impressive and glorious climax to this 
city of architecture. This facade is three hundred and 
sixty-five feet high, and is supported by eight grand pil- 
lars and surmounted by a balustrade with nineteen stat- 
ues, among others of the Virgin Mary, of the Saviour, 
and of the twelve apostles. The inscription over the col- 
umns tells us that the fagade was erected in 1612 by Paul 
V (Borghese) in honorem Principis Apostolorum. At 
either end of the fagade, near the beginning of the colon- 
nade, are ponderous doors opening to a drive that en- 
circles the church, and by which access can be had to the 
Vatican Gardens. The door at the left stands open and 
we can see the wall of the church beyond. 

Even though you may have done so before, will you 
now take a careful look at that dome; just such another 
there is not in all the world. It was an intensely hot 
June day when I climbed up into that copper ball on the 
very top beneath the cross, which from where we stand 
seems so small, although it will hold sixteen persons. 

From the pavement of the church to the summit of that 
lantern is four hundred and three feet, and to the top of 
the cross is four hundred and thirty-five feet, about the 



dome of st. peter's. 89 

height of the great pyramid of Cheops. The diameter 
of the dome is one hundred and thirty-eight feet, five 
feet less than that of the Pantheon, but St. Peter's is much 
higher. Some few years ago it was discovered that the 
dome was cracking at its base, crushing itself with its 
own enormous weight, and in order to preserve it a huge, 
tight-fitting band of steel was placed about it (a little 
above the drum on which the dome rests), and this band 
may be seen from here. 

Repairs are always needed on that mountainous struc- 
ture, and it costs about thirty-five thousand dollars every 
year to keep it in its present condition. 



This great Piazza of St. Peter's will always have a peculiar 
personal and local coloring for me, because the first morning I 
entered it I encountered one of those swindlers, the photograph 
venders of Rome. Photograph venders abound throughout the 
city, and especially here in front of St. Peter's. The strip of pho- 
tographs this enterprising individual tried to sell to me and my 
three companions, all Americans, were worthless things with no 
tone, life or perspective, pasted in a red covered book, slandering, 
by their hideous imitations, every object they were supposed to 
represent. If there is a difference in anything it is in photo- 
graphs, and there is no greater difference anywhere than between 
the best photographs and a fine stereoscopic view that gives one 
the impression and the emotion of that mysterious reality of life 
and place, arresting motion in the very act, and which because of 
its entrancing vividness, beguiles us into the notion that things 
will presently move on again. 

Well, we stood down there near the obelisk, under the shadow 
of the stately candelabra nearest the Vatican Palace, looking with 
eyes wide with wonder upon our strange and superb surround- 



90 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ings, when the fellow approached us and, as he could speak a 
little English, he started in, addressing the biggest man in the 
party, who happened to be a physician, weighing nearly two 
hundred pounds. As to size and general appearance there was a 
decided contrast between this " lean and slippered pantaloon," 
and the portly and dignified American; but, nothing daunted, the 
Italian began: 

" Gude morning, genteelman, I zell you zome excelenta photo- 
graphs of Roma. I zell you tewenty photographs fer twelve 
franca; cheapa, verra cheapa; buy zome?" 

Turning to me the doctor remarked: " I don't care for them 
for myself, but I have a daughter at home who requested me to 
bring her some photographs in book form, so perhaps these will 
do and, if so, I will be saved the trouble of hunting them up. 
I think ten francs enough for them, however, don't you?" 

" Personally, I would not care for such miserable caricatures 
at any price," I replied. " But," I added, " ten francs are cer- 
tainly enough for them." 

Turning to the vender, whose arms were full of books, the 
doctor said, " I will give you ten francs for one." 

With a grave and injured air, that could not have been more 
pronounced had the doctor wiped his feet upon him or struck 
him in the face, he protested: " No, no, your excellency, I 
canna. I looza, costa tenna franca." And then with a look of 
infinite sadness in his dark eyes, and an indefinable pathos in 
his voice, he said deliberately, as he shook his head slowly, " I 
canna, I canna." 

" All right," said the doctor brusquely, " I don't want the 
stuff." 

" Here, taka! " shouted the fellow, leaping forward and holding 
out the book; " tenna franca." 

The physician took the book and paid for it. But we were not 
rid of him by any means. 

" You taka booka, tenna franca? " he asked, addressing the 
doctor's pastor, who accompanied him on the trip. 



ROMAN MERCHANDISING. 9 1 

" I'll give you eight francs for one/' was the answer. 

" Here, taka!" was the lightning-like reply. This book was 
also paid for, but while the transaction was being concluded, the 
doctor glared at the Italian. I noticed the displeasure of my 
medical companion, and I whispered to the third member of the 
party, " Offer six francs for one, and watch the doctor." 

" You taka vonna? " continued the citizen of Rome, turning to 
my friend. 

" I will give you six francs for it," was the reply. 

" Hera, taka," came the words quicker than thought. 

I looked at the doctor who seemed ready to foam at the 
mouth, but he said nothing. I was confident, however, that I 
could draw him out. and I did. 

" Hera, taka you ; lasta vonna," he said, appealing to me. 

" No, I don't care for any," I said. 

" Yezza, taka sixa franca." 

" I will give you four francs, and not a centime more," I 
answered firmly. 

"Hera, taka; foura franca!" cried the fellow; but hardly had 
the words fallen from his lips when the doctor's heavy hand fell 
on his shoulder with the grip of a Hercules and his deep voice 
thundered out: " You black rascal, what do you mean by swin- 
dling me before my very eyes in this way? I'll shake the very 
life out of you! " 

" Santa Maria! " cried the trembling wretch, his books falling 
to the pavement in all directions, as he raised his hands implor- 
ingly, " Dona killa me; I dinna sheet you; I looza moany; costa 
tenna franca." 

Seeing the doctor hesitate, I ventured to say, " Better let him 
go, doctor. I am confident he would not survive one of your 
shakes and you might get us all into trouble. 

" I'll let him go," he answered grimly, tightening his grasp on 
the man's shoulder, which caused him to roll his eyes and utter 
a cry of pain. " I don't mind being swindled, but to stand by 



92 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

and see myself swindled three times over is more than I can 
stand. However," he added in a gentler tone, " if you will point 
out to us the room in the Vatican occupied by the Pope, I'll let 
you off for this time," and the giant removed his hand. 

A gleam of joy broke over the fellow's pale face, and forgetting 
in his eagerness the scattered books, he stepped back a few paces 
as if to get a better view of the Vatican, but in reality in order 
to get beyond the reach of the doctor's long arm. When he felt 
assured of his safety he pointed his hand toward the papal apart- 
ments and said, — but I will not attempt to imitate his broken 
speech. 

" Look over the circular part of the colonnade to the left of the 
fountain, and you will see three stories of a building rising above 
it; that is the pontifical residence. The private apartments of 
the Pope occupy the entire second floor from the top, and his 
favorite sitting room is on the side toward St. Peter's. The top 
floor is occupied by Cardinal Rampola, the Secretary of State." 

Then hastily gathering up his stock, he bowed to each of us 
with a grave and silent dignity and withdrew to the other side of 
the piazza. However, judge our surprise, when the next day 
we encountered the same fellow in front of the Pantheon, and 
found him selling the identical red books for one and one-Half 
frames each. This time I felt quite as indignant as the doctor, 
but the peddler espied us in the midst of his sales and vanished 
before we could remonstrate with him; but, to this day, if you 
want to get the doctor mad, mention the ten francs he paid 
beneath the shadow of the ancient obelisk and the Roman who 
cheated him three times before his very eyes. Having been so 
outrageously cheated by the Roman peddler, we were not alto- 
gether satisfied that we could rely upon the accuracy of his in- 
formation in regard to the apartments of the Pope. Especially 
was this the case with the doctor; but to do the lad justice, I am 
glad to say that we found his statements as to the Vatican reliable 
in every particular. 



DOME OF ST. PETER S. 93 

Try as we will, we cannot keep our eyes from that 
aerial and majestic dome. You have doubtless noticed 
the fact — if not, you will, now that I call your attention 
to it — that the dome is pierced with loopholes, and it was 
one of these we saw close down on our left, from our 
position in the summit of the dome (Stereograph No. 
5). Because of the concussion which the wind makes 
against the inner iron dome, the latter is constantly musi- 
cal. When the city is swept by hurricanes from the 
Mediterranean, which dash themselves against this moun- 
tainous mass, then the low murmur swells out into a thun- 
derous roar which seems to gather up into itself the 
angry cries of all the demons of the storm. 

Before leaving our housetop to enter the gorgeous in- 
terior of St. Peter's, take a glance over this rough para- 
pet near us at that tiled roof, just below, with the curious 
dovecot resting above its eaves. The tiled roofs of Rome 
have always been to me a pleasant memory: old, gray, 
often jumbled together, frequently moss-covered and 
lichen-coated, theyappeal to every lover of the picturesque. 
Moreover, they have always seemed to possess almost 
human sympathy and emotion when, as " a stranger in 
a strange land," I have looked upon them, in sunlight 
and in starlight, and watched their changing hues, red in 
the morning sunburst, silver at noon and purple in the 
tender light of the setting sun. 

One long look at the Vatican, the church and the 
piazza, with its stony finger and marching columns, and 
we will descend : and, as we go I call to mind an old 



94 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

guide-book, in the margin of which, over against the 
page which briefly described the glorious scene we have 
just been contemplating, a three days' tourist in Rome 
wrote long years ago, " I have seen better." I doubt it 
— nay, I deny it. For where on this round globe can 
man see as grand a church, as noble a palace, and as ex- 
traordinary a piazza suggesting in its fringe of columns 
and in its figured pavement a rich and elaborate pattern 
of Persian embroidery ; and where can such a church and 
palace and piazza be found in company ? 

We shall now go beyond the piazza, beyond even the 
broad marble steps, and stand back of the quilted cur- 
tain which closes the doorway of this church, the vast, 
resplendent., incomparable St. Peter's, which is as Haw- 
thorne expresses it, " an embodiment of whatever the 
imagination could conceive, as a magnificent, comprehen- 
sive, majestic symbol of religious faith." Never, while 
memory lasts, can I forget the sight of that seemingly 
limitless pavement, that stupendous interior, the glory 
of which, although a tenth of a mile away, was the Great 
Altar, rising in solemn majesty from the polished floor. 



7. The Great Altar. *St. Peter's Church. 

Like a burst of supernal grandeur is the scene which 
here greets our eyes! The church rises about us like a 
glistening mountain of precious stones, its huge rec- 
tangular columns (proportions of three of which can be 
seen to our right) covered with rare marbles. Through 



THE HIGH ALTAR. 95 

the numerous arches, we discern imposing chapels, each 
of which is as large as an ordinary church. Above our 
heads curves a glorious arch of sunken coffers, brilliant 
with inlaid gold; and before us, at first dimly seen 
through the hazy splendor of the incense-laden air, 
the long perspective widens and deepens, like a cloud- 
wrapt opening in the seventh heaven, and in our en- 
thusiastic admiration we are prepared to accept as a 
matter of fact the statement that the church contains 
thirty altars, including the High Altar, one hundred and 
forty-eight columns and three hundred and ninety stat- 
ues. 

Now that the first feelings of rapture and surprise 
have passed, and we have become a little accustomed 
to our gorgeous and spacious surroundings, it will be 
wise for us to fix clearly in mind our present location. 
In order to do this it will be necessary for us to consult 
the map of St. Peter's and the Vatican, and especially 
that part of it which has to do with the Basilica itself; 
for if, in our rambles abroad, we feel the necessity of 
consulting a map whenever we visit a strange city, such 
a procedure is equally necessary and helpful when we 
enter a vast and wonderful structure like St. Peter's, 
which an Italian writer aptly called " The devout city." 
By reference to the plan we note a circular space near 
the western end of the church that marks the location 
of the great dome, and around the space are the four 
massive pillars that support the dome. Our position 
is given by the two red lines, with the number 7 in a 



g6 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

circle, which start from the third pillar from the entrance 
on the north side and extend toward the dome area 
or toward the w T est. We can now have a clear under- 
standing of our location in the church, that we are on 
the northern side of the main aisle or nave, looking west. 

Returning now to our position in the church, we remem- 
ber, of course, that directly over this Great Altar is the 
noble dome of the vast church. Four massive pillars sup- 
port this dome, portions of three of which we can see from 
our present position. One of these has the statue of St. 
Peter (seen just before us) in front of it. Beyond and 
over the head of the statue can be seen the flutings of the 
second of these great pillars, while back of the two twisted 
columns of the High Altar still another can be seen. The 
fluted face and polished pedestal of the pillar nearest us on 
the right, is one of the six pillars that support the nave. 

A lady standing beside me, the first time I beheld the 
Great Altar exclaimed fervently, " How grandly beau- 
tiful ! " and I am sure as we gaze upon those four richly 
gilded spiral columns and that splendid canopy, we must 
say the same. 

From the gleam of the marble floor to the summit 
of the cross is ninety-five feet, a greater elevation than 
the height of the Royal Palace. Those clustering col- 
umns and the canopy surmounted by the lofty cross are 
all of bronze and weigh ninety-three tons. The bronze 
for the columns was taken from the huge architrave of 
the Temple of Minerva, in the Forum of Minerva near 
the Roman Forum. The canopy and cross of the High 



THE TOMB OF ST. PETER. 97 

Altar are formed from material plundered from the roof 
of the Pantheon. The gilding of this elaborate, massive 
structure cost one hundred thousand dollars. As Goethe 
said, one learns here how art, as well as nature, can set 
aside every standard of measurement. 

Now observe that between the columns are six great 
candlesticks with a cross in the centre each candlestick 
holding a tall wax candle, and before the altar is a curv- 
ing balustrade of marble on which eighty-nine golden 
lamps are ever burning, and which you might easily take 
for a mass of yellow roses. 

Down beneath those lamps is the Confession which 
contains the tomb of St. Peter, and on account of which 
this altar is considered by Roman Catholics to be the 
most sacred spot on earth. We shall look at the tomb 
later. 

Because of the sacredness of this altar mass is read 
at it only on great occasions, and by no one but the Pope, 
or a cardinal especially appointed by him for such serv- 
ice. Over the High Altar, encircling the great dome, is 
a gallery in which you can look down upon this can- 
opy, and when seen from the dizzy height, it seems 
raised but a little above the marble pavement. 

We have already referred to the bronze statue of St. 
Peter in a marble chair, seen directly in front of us and 
placed against one of the four monstrous pillars that 
support the dome, and we have also had our attention 
called to the two graceful bronze candlesticks holding 
wax candles, and suspended between them we noticed 



98 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

an elaborate altar lamp; but we shall be nearer to the 
statue presently, and can then examine it and its surround- 
ings to better advantage. 

Just now look above the High Altar at the vaulted and 
coffered ceiling of the Tribune that always shines in the 
midday light like burnished gold. A more magnificent 
ceiling over a grander hall than this cannot be imagined, 
eep the eyes up to it again and again and you will 
find that its vastness and splendor will keep growing upon 
you more and more the longer you gaze upon it. 

Now, if we direct our glance between the candlesticks 
in front of the statue of St. Peter and the two right-hand 
columns of the High Altar, we see at the end of the 
Tribune the famous " Cathedra Petri " or Peter's Chair, 

rich is an ancient wooden chair (said to have belonged 
to the senator Pudens, with whom the apostle is sup- 
posed to have lodged), inclosed in bronze and supported 
by the gigantic figures of the four Fathers of the Church, 
Augustine, Ambrose, Chrysostom and Athanasius. 
These remarkable statues rest upon lofty pedestals of rich 
colored marble. To the right of the spiral columns we 
can see a portion of the front of the chair, also 
one leg. The right-hand statues and pedestals are 
partly hidden by the candlesticks and altar lamps. 
To the left of the columns can be seen part of one of 
the statues and its pedestal. A solemn festival in honor 
of this chair is held on the 18th of January, when it is 
publicly displayed. Above the Cathedra Petri is a circu- 
lar window of colored glass that has the form of a clock. 



PAPAL TOMBS. 99 

This window is set in a massive frame of ornamental 
bronze, the effect of the variegated light being to give a 
delicate and rosy hue to the gilded metal. 

To the left of the group we may see the Tomb of Pope 
Paul III (number 6 in the plan of St. Peter's), which 
stands under the marble arch, supported by Corinthian 
columns. You can detect the rich veining and almost 
the glow of the color in the marble. That is the finest 
tomb in the basilica and is said to have cost twenty-four 
thousand dollars. To the right of the Cathedra Petri 
is the Tomb of Urban VIII (number 4 in the plan). We 
can see the marble columns and part of the architrave, as 
well as the figure of Justice with one hand resting on the 
black marble sarcophagus. 

You can almost feel the cool smoothness of those 
titanic marble pillars in front of us. I know my first im- 
pulse was to reach out my hand and stroke the glassy 
surface. I wish some person would step up to that col- 
umn this side of the statue of St. Peter. You would be 
surprised to find that the top of the base of the pillar would 
be about in range with his head ; and those slender flutings 
in the pillars are, in reality, large enough to form niches 
for life-size statues, as many of them do. 

Be assured of this, that the element of time must enter 
into the appreciation of the immensity of this structure; 
only after looking at it again and again can we realize 
its tremendous proportions and be conscious of its im- 
measurable vastness; and when we come to know more 

about it we are not surprised to learn that the building of 
, LofC. 



IOO ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

this great temple extended over one hundred and seventy- 
six years, and up to the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury had cost fifty million dollars. A man who continues 
disappointed with the size of St. Peter's would find fault 
with the volume of water pouring over Niagara. 

Some years since, at Easter time, according to Story, 
the American sculptor, there stood out on the piazza 
back of us, a tourist who could not conceal his intense 
surprise. So evident was it that a passer-by asked him 
" What is the matter? " 

" What is the matter? " echoed the man earnestly. 
" Why, for two hours torrents of people have poured 
into that church and I have just returned from looking 
into it, and there is no crowd in it yet. The building is 
too monstrous, there is no sense in it." 

" Alas ! sir/' was the answer, " what say you to the 
parsonage?" pointing to the Vatican. "It only con- 
tains eleven thousand halls, rooms and corridors, and 
two hundred flights of stairs." 

" Absurd," was the reply, " an unmarried priest doesn't 
need such accommodations." 

" But you forget, my friend," added his companion, 
" that the church and the palace were constructed, not for 
the Roman parish, but for the whole Catholic world." 

We shall now go forward a few steps and stand just 
the other side of that farther candlestick, and in front 
of the southeast dome pillar and get a near view of the 
statue of St. Peter. The position is found on the plan 



STATUE OF ST. PETER. IOI 

of the church by the red lines connected with the number 
8 in a circle. 



8. The Famous Statue of St. Peter. 

Well, this view of the statue is most satisfactory. 

Nothing appears to prevent us from touching it and our 
eyes seem fairly to look around it. 

The figure is made of bronze, and, as you see, it is 
seated in a chair which is placed on a platform of colored 
marble. In all the churches of Rome, there is no other 
figure in this position or similarly placed, with the possi- 
ble exception of Michelangelo's " Moses " in the Church 
of St. Peter in Chains. From this circumstance, as well 
as from the cast of the features, it is asserted by some 
eminent archaeologists that it is an ancient work and was 
originally a statue of Jupiter Capitolinus, which was ap- 
propriated and baptized by the Pope as St. Peter the 
Apostle. Still others assert that while, originally, it was 
a statue of Jupiter, it was recast by Pope Leo the Great 
to commemorate the deliverance of Rome from the in- 
vasion of Attila. Lanciani, however, declares that the 
statue was cast as a portrait of St. Peter. 

In the Library of the Vatican, among the countless 
gems preserved there, is an oval medallion belonging, 
according to the opinion of experts, to the first century. 
This treasure, which is not well known to the crowds of 
sight-seers who throng the Vatican, has on it the profiles 
of St. Peter and St. Paul. Comparing the profile of St 



102 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Peter with the features of the statue, one can see a strik 
ing resemblance between the two. This medallion show? 
the Apostle Paul to be quite bald, with long features and 
aquiline nose, while the lines of his face reveal the medi- 
tative expression of a philosopher and of a man worn by 
the storm and stress of human life. 

The figure of the Apostle Peter is characterized by dig- 
nity and austerity, and, although it cannot be regarded 
as a great work of art, nevertheless, it is extremely full 
of life and majesty. The right hand uplifted, with the 
two fingers raised, gives the statue a commanding ap- 
pearance, while the keys, held in the left hand, indicate 
the power of the Apostle to open the doors of heaven to 
all believers, as well as to admit unbelievers to the regions 
of the lost. The delicate folds of the long robe, the nat- 
uralness of the tightly drawn cords of the neck, the lux- 
uriant hair and beard, and the muscles of the arm, all 
enhance the effectiveness of the statue, while you can- 
not but admire the fine carving of the chair and the rich 
veining of the marble pedestal. 

There is almost always a crowd of worshipers about 
this statue. As soon as the devotions, which are con- 
tinually going on at some one of the many altars, are 
over, the devotee rises, approaches the statue and kisses 
the great toe of the foot of the Apostle ; after which he 
softly rubs his forehead against the instep. Several toes 
have been worn away by this contact of human lips, and 
have been replaced, and if you will look at the foot care- 
fully you will see that the present toe is considerably worn. 



A CROWD OF WORSHIPPERS. 103 

Among the memories of St. Peter's that will, at least, 
linger longest with me, is one which recalls a crowd of 
peasants gathered about the statue with rapt faces and 
upturned eyes, as though they were gazing upon God in 
heaven. They thronged about it, almost crushing one an- 
other in their efforts to kiss the bronze foot. Many of 
them, in order to secure this inestimable privilege, had 
walked from twelve to fifteen miles, knowing not where 
they would find shelter for the night. Standing here in 
this splendid church, they presented a strange and pic- 
turesque appearance, dressed as many of them were, in 
old sheep and goatskin mantles, leathern leggings and 
sandals of hide. In this temple, grander than their 
wildest dream of heaven's glories, before this bronze 
statue that, to them, is the veritable Apostle, they evident- 
ly forgot the hardships of their rude existence. 

Protestants can never appreciate the feeling which this 
statue awakens in the heart of a true Roman Catholic. 
Gregory II wrote to Pope Leo the Isaurian : " Christ is 
my witness that when I enter the Temple of the Prince of 
the Apostles and contemplate his image, I am filled with 
such emotion that tears run down my cheeks like rain 
from heaven." 

Let me direct your attention to that quaint, old candle- 
stick with its circlet of angel forms, the whole constitut- 
ing, in its way, an interesting piece of artistic work. 

Also let us not neglect to examine the wall back of the 
statue of St. Peter. In 1871 the clergy of the Vatican 
caused a mosaic portrait of Pope Pius IX, to be placed 



104 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

there, in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary 
of his accession to the papal throne, a period equal to the 
duration of the supposed episcopacy of St. Peter, and, 
which up to that time, it was firmly believed, no Pope could 
survive. The limits of our vision forbid our seeing the 
portrait of the Pope, but we can see its mosaic setting cov- 
ering the wall back of the statue. 

This wall, we are to remember, belongs to one of the 
four great pillars that support the dome, and, as it was 
necessary to bear up a cupola nearly as high as the Great 
Pyramids, the pillars were built of enormous size and 
solidity, so as not to be crushed by the superimposed 
weight. T.he monstrous proportions of these supports of 
the dome made it necessary to build the pillars of the 
nave considerably larger than they otherwise would have 
been, in order to have them all harmonize, and thus only 
three could be arranged on either side. These gigantic 
piers, more than anything else, dwarf to our view the 
astounding dimensions of the vast church; for who would 
suppose that we would find the longest nave in the world 
divided into only three arches. The four great buttresses 
that uphold the dome are two hundred and thirty-four 
feet in circumference, with niches in the lower part of 
each occupied by statues sixteen feet high. 

It is only by the careful consideration of these dimen- 
sions that one at last reaches a just appreciation of this 
mightiest building-effort of the popes; and where, as in 
Rome, so many things crowd upon one's attention, much 
is often overlooked or. is only partially seen; but visiting 



LONGINGS FOR ROME. 105 

the city as we do, we need not be hurried; we may stay 
as long as we will and come back again as often as we 
please. 

Pope Gregory XVI, who was a genial old man, will- 
ingly gave audiences to strangers, and he invariably in- 
quired of them how long they had been in Rome. When 
they answered, " For three weeks," he would smile shrewd- 
ly and say, " Allons! Adieu!" But if the traveller re- 
plied that he had spent three or four months in the Eter- 
nal City the Holy Father said to him, " Au revoir ! " for 
he knew well that all who had lingered long enough to 
become acquainted with its priceless possessions, would 
never rest satisfied until their feet once more stood with- 
in its walls. 

While lingering before the statue of St. Peter we have 
been standing directly in front of the High Altar. We 
shall turn now and descend to St. Peter's tomb beneath it. 



9. The Holy of Holies— St. Peter's Tomb. 

This Confession was constructed by Maderna acting 
under the command of Pope Paul V. It has the same 
pavement that once covered the floor of the more an- 
cient tomb belonging to the earlier church, and those 
exquisite gilded bronze doors, beside which the attendant 
is standing and immediately back of which is the sarcoph- 
agus of St. Peter, are also a relic of the former structure. 
The golden lamps above cast a faint luster on the shin- 



106 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ing marble and on the gilt doors, and illumine the statues 
of St. Peter and St. Paul set in niches on either side. 

This tomb is the pearl of all this colossal and priceless 
opulence. All the wealth, vaster than that of Croesus, is 
here poured out with such a lavish hand, because back 
of those beautiful doors there is believed to be a handful 
of dust, all that remains of the Prince of the Apostles, 
once the rough, yet devoted fisherman of Galilee, who 
left his leaking boat and worn nets to follow the Man 
of Nazareth. Round about the inner circle of the base of 
the wide dome that towers hundreds of feet above our 
heads, in mosaic letters on a blue ground — letters six feet 
long — are those memorable words of the Son of God, 
spoken one day, in the Christland beyond the sea, not far 
from the old Roman bridge that still can be seen by the 
ancient Gate of Caesarea Philippi : " Thou art Peter, and 
upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it." 

This beautiful kneeling statue, of which we see the head 
and shoulders, is by Canova, and represents Pope Pius 
VI in prayer, his eyes fixed on the Apostle's tomb. His 
last desires, as he lay dying in exile, were contained in a 
dream of this sacred place. Gentlemen are freely ad- 
mitted to this Holy of Holies, but ladies must procure 
special permission if they desire to enter into this hal- 
lowed inclosure. 

It will give us a better idea of the brilliancy and glory 
of St. Peter's, — and yet there is no gloom in it all, not 



RAPHAEL S TRANSFIGURATION. 107 

a dark corner suggestive of chill and mystery, even the 
very atmosphere of the church remaining at a delight- 
fully warm temperature throughout the year — if we ex- 
amine one of the fadeless and famous stone pictures which 
make the fortress-like walls look as though they were 
painted with morning sunlight. Chief among them is 
the Mosaic of Raphael's " Transfiguration." 



jo. The Wonder ful Mosaic — Copy of Raphael 9 s 
" Transfiguration." 

Framed within a great arch of gorgeous marble, the 
whole constitutes an effect so radiantly beautiful that one 
might well imagine it to be a sunlit vision of another and 
better world. 

This masterpiece is on the walls of the southeast dome 
(number 14 on the plan of St. Peter's), opposite the 
Statue of St. Peter. So in standing here, the entrance is 
behind us, the Statue of St. Peter is off to our right, and 
the High Altar is beyond the pillar against which we are 
looking. The picture is an exact reproduction of Raph- 
ael's painting in the Vatican and looks as if it were 
painted on canvas, but in reality it is composed of thou- 
sands of pieces of variously tinted stone, which repro- 
duce to perfection every shade of color and every ex- 
pression of the original. The extreme delicacy of the 
work and the length of time required for a single pic- 
ture make these mosaic copies of immeasurable value; 
and yet, St. Peter's contains more than one hundred, all 



108 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the work of the great masters, and these, together with 
the splendid tombs, render the walls of the church sub- 
lime with the highest representations of the beautiful. 
This one copy of the Transfiguration cost fifty thousand 
dollars. 

We shall miss its charm and power if we but glance 
hastily at this picture, for, by universal consent, it is the 
greatest painting in the world. Look long and deeply 
into it, and you will see why when, in the grandest funeral 
procession that Rome had seen for centuries, they bore 
young Raphael to the Pantheon for burial, they carried 
the original of this, his masterpiece, at the head of the 
procession. 

The artist has been criticised for attempting to produce, 
in a single picture, two centres of conflicting interest, 
thereby diverting, if not confusing, the mind of the be- 
holder. The principal portion and the real centre of the 
painting is, as its name implies, the Transfiguration, and, 
therefore, it seems decidedly peculiar to have the glori- 
fied Saviour and his celestial visitors together with the 
prostrate disciples dazzled by the insufferable brightness, 
occupying the upper and smaller portion of the painting, 
while the demoniac boy and the company surrounding 
him occupy the foreground and larger part. Most peo- 
ple, I should imagine, would have preferred the Trans- 
figuration by itself, and, indeed, we are told on the 
best authority, that such was also the preference of 
Raphael, but that the monks of S. Pietro in Montorio, for 
whom the picture was painted, insisted upon having the 



AN UNFINISHED MASTERPIECE. 1 09 

double picture, it being almost the universal custom of 
the age to have two pictures in one, a celestial and a ter- 
restrial one, and each independent of the other. Even a 
Raphael and a Shakespeare were not superior to the de- 
mands of their patrons, which often reflected the degene- 
rate tendency of the times. And yet, so masterfully has 
Raphael executed the difficult undertaking, that anyone 
at all familiar with the Scripture narrative, can see, as 
Goethe did, a subtle and indissoluble unity in the whole 
painting, and can understand how the great painter, who 
was then in the full glory and ripeness of his powers, saw 
and interpreted that vision of light as the only source of 
the world's healing. 

The lower part of the painting was not finished when 
Raphael died, and, after his decease, other hands tried to 
complete it; but the hands were not those of the great 
master, nor were the colors his; and it requires no great 
expert to detect where the brush fell from Raphael's fin- 
gers, and where it was taken up again by his successors. 

Half of the painting is light, all light, and such " as 
never fell on sea or land," and the other half, the lower, 
is all darkness, which characterizes indefinable terror and 
despair. How real it all seems, how full of pathos and 
heavenly comfort, the demon-torn boy, the agonizing 
father and mother, the baffled and helpless disciples and 
the transfigured Lord, from whom the help must come! 
And it may be that Raphael painted wiser and better 
than he knew when he flashed all this on canvas, and, in 
his last earthly effort, executed the grandest painting in 



HO ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the world. And it may have been also what we call acci- 
dent that the most precious and exquisite marble in this 
treasure-house of rare and beautiful stones should have 
been wrought into the superb arch and pillars and deli- 
cate balustrade surrounding the wonderful mosaic, which 
is never so entrancing as when the glowing tints of the 
Italian sun fall upon it, imparting to its warm coloring a 
pure and rosy light. 

" A calm, benignant beauty shines on all this picture and goes 
directly to the heart. It seems almost to call you by name. The 
sweet and sublime face of Jesus is beyond praise, yet how it dis- 
appoints all florid expectations! It was painted for such as had 
eyes capable of being touched by simplicity and lofty emotions." 
— Emerson. 

The noble female figure of Faith holding the cross, 
which you notice close to us on our right, belongs to a 
neighboring chapel, but it harmonizes so well with the 
Transfiguration as to seem almost a part of it, a sort of 
jeweled link between the upper and lower parts of the 
picture, for said not the Transfigured One Himself, 
when He had come down from the mountain and had 
healed the child: " If ye have faith as a grain of mustard 
seed — nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

Leaving this bit of heaven's glory, we pass to our left in 
front of the High Altar and beyond it, to the farther side 
of the northwest dome pillar, where we shall see what is 
frequently, but I think erroneously, called Canova's great- 
est work (number n in the plan of St. Peter's), the 
Monument and Tomb of Clement XIII. 



A BEAUTIFUL TOMB. Ill 

n. The Tomb of Clement XIII. 

In the upper part of the monument the kneeling figure 
of the Pope is the gem of the entire group, for a more 
gentle, reverent, and soul-full posture it would be hard 
to conceive. There is almost a child-like simplicity about 
this prayerful old man, whose life continued for three- 
quarters of a century. Notice how naturally the corner 
of the graceful robe falls over the edge of the granite 
platform and how dainty is the fringe of the pillow on 
which the pope is kneeling, as well as his triple crown, a 
little to the front and right of him. 

On the right-hand side of the marble sarcophagus is a 
beautifully carved figure, representing the Genius of 
Death. Notice how feather-like is the wing, how real 
and luxuriant the hair, and how faultlessly beautiful the 
outlines of that snowy form. Observe that he is leaning 
against the sarcophagus and holding loosely in his right 
hand an inverted torch whose light he thus extinguishes, 
a most appropriate and suggestive thought. These two 
figures — that of the Pope and Death — are worthy of the 
immortal genius of a great artist; but you cannot con- 
template the rest of the group without a feeling of disap- 
pointment. 

That figure of religion holding the cross in her right 
hand and resting her left upon the sarcophagus, her head 
encircled with gleams of light, is not worthy the man 
who chiseled it. There is about it an awkwardness that is 
disagreeable, and those lions, couchant at the entrance of 



112 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the tomb, notwithstanding the praise bestowed upon 
them, are not to be compared with Thorwaldsen's Lion 
of Lucerne. 

Yet, as you stand before the tomb and almost within 
reach of this pair of kingly beasts, you cannot but for- 
give the artist's desire to introduce them into his work, 
whatever their defects, when you reflect that it was to a 
lion that the sculptor owed the opportunity lof his life. 
It happened thus. Many years before, when yet a boy, he 
was an humble waiter in an obscure " Canova* di vino " 
or wine-shop, and here he obtained the name he after- 
wards made illustrious. One day, a great and noted man, 
overtaken by a storm, entered the little wayside inn and 
called for some refreshments. The proprietor, awed by 
the presence of such a celebrity, brought out the best 
the house afforded, and the young waiter, who possessed 
some artistic talent, contributed his part to the adorning of 
the table by modeling a lion in butter and setting it in the 
centre of the table. The king of beasts, notwithstanding 
he was made of butter, attracted the attention of the rich 
stranger and he offered to give the boy an education in 
art at his own expense. And so, it is not surprising that 
Canova should have believed that the inspiration which 
was present when he modeled his first lion, and which 
was the means of transforming him from the humblest 
waiter to the greatest sculptor of his time, should be 
with him ever after when he had occasion to model that 
royal animal. 

When the monument to Clement XIII was unveiled 



LISTENING TO CRITICISMS. 113 

here in the presence of a vast concourse of people, 
Canova, disguised as a priest, mingled in the crowd, so 
as to learn their opinions ; and, if it were true then, as it 
frequently is now, that " listeners hear no good of them- 
selves," while his heart must have been gladdened by 
the genuine outburst of admiration with which people 
greeted that magnificent achievement, yet his ears must 
have tingled and his heart become sore as he heard one 
critic compare his lions to bull-dogs, and another his 
statue of Religion to a spectacular figure on the prim- 
itive stage of a provincial theatre. 

Observe how the same light that streams in on our left 
from that western window, bathing these marble statues 
in brightness, serves by the shadows it casts to add gloom 
to the tomb entrance beneath. 

But, notwithstanding what may be justly said in detrac- 
tion of the work, it yet remains true that it contains more 
elements of power and beauty than any other group of 
sculpture in St. Peter's, except one, the " Pieta " of 
Michelangelo. 

The " Pieta " group is situated in the extreme north- 
east corner of the basilica, to the right of the central en- 
trance to the church (number 7 in plan of St. Peter's). 
In order to reach it from the Tomb of Clement XIII, 
we must traverse almost the entire length of the structure. 
It is in a lonely chapel considerably removed from the 
tread of the many feet that press the pavement of the 
nave. 



114 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

J2. "Pieta, ' ' by Michelangelo. 

This is one of Michelangelo's earliest works, and 
while it lacks the bold heroic stroke and balanced pro- 
portions that characterize his later achievements as a 
sculptor, it reveals, as in a prophecy, those unrivaled 
powers which have won the admiration of the world of 
art. 

As a matter of criticism, the form of the Saviour, as 
compared with that of the Virgin Mary, is much too 
small; and yet the requirements of the posture of our 
Lord probably accounts for this, as well as for the fact 
that the artist conceived of the body as greatly emaciated, 
although, if this be so, he has not brought it out very 
clearly in his work, except in the shoulder and arm of the 
dead Christ. And then, those two tawdry bronze cherubs 
do not add to the dignity and sublimity of the group. 

In our limited view, shutting out all else but the statu- 
ary itself, we see it to far better advantage than we should 
it we beheld it dwarfed and greatly overshadowed by the 
massive architecture above and around it. 

But criticise it as you will, it yet remains the greatest 
work of art in St. Peter's, and one of the most exquisite 
and touching in all the world, expressing in the lifeless 
form the terrible suffering through which the Saviour 
passed, and the complete rest that followed death. It 
speaks, too, and that in a marvelous way, of the soul- 
wrenching grief of the mother — for a sadder face was 
never cut in stone, not lighted even by the hope ot 



THE HOLY PILLAR. 115 

resurrection or the coming of future glory — just such a 
grief as many a mother has felt over the loss of her own. 

The walls of this chapel are faced with slabs of colored 
marble, taken from the earlier church, but the workman- 
ship, as you can see by examining the wall to the left of 
the statue, is not good and the marble is sadly in need of 
repair. As in all the other chapels, so here, there is an 
altar with its bronze crucifix and candles. 

In this same chapel stands a curiously wrought column, 
which is protected by an iron cage. It is called the Colon- 
na Santa, the holy pillar, and it is said to be the one 
against which Christ used to lean when, in the temple 
court at Jerusalem, he taught the people. It is of Roman 
origin and belongs to the third century. In the middle 
ages it was known as the Colonna degli Spiritati, and to 
it were bound persons believed to be possessed with evil 
spirits, which were exorcised by prayers and holy water. 

A witty story is told in connection with this pillar, 
how one of the servants of the Vatican cheated a poor 
fisherman, and when he was pursued to the very doors 
of St. Peter's by the outraged man, whose indignation 
was great and who gave full vent to his anger, the ser- 
vant turned and handed him over to the sacristan of the 
church to be bound to the pillar and cured of his sup- 
posed possession by wearisome prayers and by a copious 
application of holy water. 

We now leave the church, and before entering the 
Vatican, shall stop on the south side of the spacious area 



Il6 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

where the two magnificent fountains are in action and 
look up to the Pope's home. On the map our position 
and field of vision is given by the number 13 in a circle 
on the southern side of the Piazza di S. Pietro and the 
two lines which extend toward the northwest. 

13. The Vatican Palace, the Residence of 
the Pope. 

Bear in mind that the Vatican is more than simply 
the residence of the Pope, the supreme head of the Ro- 
man Catholic Church; it is the administrative centre of 
the whole Roman Catholic Church. 

Besides the Pope a number of cardinals live here all the 
time, and, in a way, they constitute the Pope's cabinet. 

Chief among them is Cardinal Rampolla, the present Secretary 
of State; then comes the Prefect of the Holy Apostolic Palaces, 
who controls everything connected with the Vatican and ad- 
joining buildings; the Maggiordomo, who is the manager of the 
museums and galleries; the Maestro di Camera, who is the mas- 
ter of ceremonies and has the oversight of all audiences; the 
Dispenser or Papal Commissioner of all church charities; the 
Publishing Secretary, who has charge of the issuing of all books 
printed at the Vatican; a chief Steward and the Chief of the 
Vatican police. All of these dignitaries are cardinals. Besides 
these, the pope has four private secretaries, and his private 
preacher, and his confessor, the last two being always Capuchin 
monks, according to a very ancient custom. 

In the days of Pope Pius IX, two thousand three hun- 
dred and forty-eight persons lived in the Vatican. 



THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING HERETIC. 117 

" Did you go to see the Pope when you were in 
Rome?" asked an American of a companion he hap- 
pened to meet on the steamer. 

" No, he didn't call on me/' was the reply. 

And while it is true that the Pope is not in the habit 
of making calls, yet it is also a well-known fact in Rome 
that strangers who come well introduced, even Protes- 
tants, find it easier to gain an audience than do the Ital- 
ians themselves; and this is especially true of those who 
desire to hear the Pope say mass. 

" Where are you going, brother, looking so fine with 
your black dress and sword?" asked one Italian of an- 
other. 

" To the Sistine Chapel to hear the Pope say the 
Miserere." 

" The Swiss guard will turn you out! " 

" No danger; I turned heretic yesterday." 

When George Eliot was in Rome she had a special 
audience with the Pope, and when, afterwards, she was 
asked if she kneeled before him, she replied, " I most 
certainly did." 

" Why! " exclaimed a by-stander, " I did not know that 
you were a Roman Catholic." 

" I am not," replied the great writer, " but I have 
never known any one injured by an old man's blessing." 

The pillars of the colonnade are seen to fine advantage 
from this point. Between the obelisk and the fountain 
nearer to us is a round slab of stone which indicates the 
centre of the semi-circular colonnade, and from this point 



Il8 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

each series appears as one column. There is a similar 
stone between the obelisk and the farther fountain, stand- 
ing upon which, one gets the same result. 

Did you ever see a nobler shaft of stone than that 
stately obelisk, the only one in Rome that has never 
been overthrown? Pliny tells us that in order to bring 
it from Egypt, Caligula sent to sea the greatest ship that 
ever existed in ancient times. When the obelisk reached 
Rome, he set it up in the Circus of Caligula at the base 
of the Vatican Hill. The word Vatican comes from 
votes a soothsayer or voticinium divination, for it was 
once the seat of divination under the care of the Etrus- 
cans. The obelisk, as it now stands, was erected by 
Sixtus V in 1586, and, therefore, is not far from its orig- 
inal location. 

Here, on the Vatican Hill, also was the scene of the 
first martyrdoms, and out here the Christians stole by 
night to dig graves for their brethren who had sacrificed 
their lives for their faith. But now, overshadowing all 
this hallowed ground, is the majestic obelisk, once a sym- 
bol of the very heathenism that destroyed the martyrs, 
now standing at the portals of this world-famed church 
and palace, as a silent and eternal tribute to the fact that 
Christianity conquered paganism. 

When Sixtus V in 1586 moved the obelisk to its present 
position, he placed the work in the care of Domenico Fon- 
tana. As the stone weighed about a million Roman 
pounds, he employed nine hundred workmen and thirty- 
five cranes. Two horses and ten men labored at each 



RAISING THE OBELISK. 119 

crane. The story is told that Sixtus commanded silence 
during the execution of the work under pain of death. 
When one of the ropes stretched and there was a proba- 
bility of the obelisk resting in the wrong place, a workman 
exclaimed, " Aqua alle funi," i.e., water on the ropes. 
This being done, the obelisk was placed correctly. The 
man, named Bresca, although violating the command, was 
honored by the Pope, and his descendants living in S. 
Remo were granted the privilege of sending the palms 
to Rome for Palm Sunday. 

On the summit of the obelisk is the gilded bronze cross, 
which is prevented from swaying in the high winds by 
four chains fastened to the corners of the shaft and which 
we can plainly see, in spite of the great height, the dis- 
tance to the top of the cross being one hundred and 
thirty-two feet. 

For some time past, while we have been looking at that 
obelisk and catching occasional glimpses of the darken- 
ing sky beyond, I have fancied it was raining, when it 
was only the play of those splendid fountains. These 
fountains are forty-five feet in height, and when they are 
in full play, as we see them now, they add materially to 
the beauty of their surroundings. 

The last time I stood in this Piazza of St. Peter's the 
day was far spent, I remember, and the gentle sweetness 
of a Roman evening was stealing over the city, giving a 
poetic loveliness to the obelisk and colonnades. To me 
the mystic murmur of the great fountains blended with 
the music of the long past, which never seemed altogether 



120 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

to die away beneath the soft and sacred shadows flung 
by palace and by dome. 

T.he way into the Vatican is by a bronze door beneath 
the colonnade, directly back of this nearest fountain. 
Entering that door, at which are always stationed some 
of the Swiss guards wearing their picturesque costume, 
we walk along a great corridor toward the left and ascend 
a broad flight of marble steps which lead to the Sala 
Regia, a sumptuous apartment which we referred to when 
we were looking at the Vatican from the Dome of St. 
Peters. Passing through this hall we turn to the left 
again and enter the Sistine Chapel, one of the choicest and 
certainly the most noted building in all the Vatican group. 
The red lines connected with the number 14 on the map 
give our position. 

14. The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where 
the Pope is crowned. 

This was erected in 1473 under Sixtus IV, after whom 
it was named. The chapel is one hundred and thirty- 
three feet long and fifty wide, with six windows on each 
side over the frieze. 

The structure is beautiful in itself, being made so, part- 
ly by its simple and harmonious proportions, but chiefly 
by the great works of art that adorn its ceiling and its 
walls; and beautiful, too, as any cluster of diamonds or 
string of pearls, is that chaste and artistic marble screen 
near us, surmounted by eight marble lamps. 



THE SISTINE CHAPEL. 121 

Examine those lovely panels. Could anything be more 
delicate than those charming little cherubs and graceful 
festoons ! And the work on the frame of the door and 
on the marble posts is as dainty as any Brussels lace. 

To the right is seen the gallery for the choir: at the 
end of the hall is a modest altar, with four marble steps. 
To the right of the altar, upon a raised platform, is a 
chair for the Pope. 

Observe that there are no monuments in the chapel, 
its only ornamentation being the illustrious paintings 
with which it is completely covered. 

There is no doubt that as long as the frescoes were 
bright and fresh there was nothing in the world that could 
compare with this magnificent chapel; but now that the 
colors are dimmed by the dampness that has played such 
sad havoc with the walls, what we see to-day is but the 
ruined splendor of its former glory. However, enough 
remains to show that the greatest triumphs of the world 
of art have been achieved in this Sistine Chapel. 

It is to be regretted that it is frequently dark and 
gloomy here; and my experience was but the common 
one, since I had to go to the chapel again and again be- 
fore I saw it at all perfectly. The difficulty is that most 
travellers cannot, as a rule, wait for ideal weather, and a 
sunless day or a summer storm will spoil all. We are 
seeing the chapel on one of Italy's most golden days. 

On the walls of the chapel are paintings by many of 
the most celebrated artists of the fifteenth century, but 
everything is overshadowed by the powerful genius and 



122 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

overwhelming vigor displayed in the work of Michel- 
angelo. 'And just as the rising of the sun puts out all 
the stars and fills the heavens with its own radiance, so 
this masterful spirit obscures all other artists, and fills 
the Sistine Chapel with himself. 

It is universally admitted that the ceiling of this chapel 
contains the most perfect painting done by Michelan- 
gelo in his long and marvelously productive life, but be- 
cause these frescoes are where they can only be seen with 
difficulty, many visit the place, and miss seeing them after 
all. I lay on the floor for hours studying these master- 
pieces, and while 1 was in this undignified position hun- 
dreds of tourists rushed in and out. One wealthy and 
portly American entered with his three daughters, glanced 
hastily around, and remarked in a matter-of-fact tone, 
as he consulted his guide book, " Ah, yes, Sistine Chapel, 
very fine! Well, girls, we've seen it; better be going; we 
lunch at two " — pulling out a heavy gold watch — " we'll 
just make it." And with a rustling, hardly suggestive of 
angels' wings, they vanished through the open door. 

The painting which attracts the greatest attention is 
that of " The Last Judgment," which completely fills the 
wall opposite us. 

Michelangelo was sixty years of age when he received the 
commission from Pope Clement VII to paint this vast fresco. 
His long years of incessant devotion to his arduous work had 
already begun to tell upon the artist and he was loath to apply 
himself to this great undertaking, so, in order to induce his 
more hearty cooperation in its execution — for it required seven 



THE LAST JUDGMENT. 1 23 

years to complete the painting — Paul III, who succeeded Clement 
VII as Pope, went in person to the house of the famous painter, 
accompanied by ten cardinals, an honor rarely conferred upon 
other men. 

Michelangelo is said to have drawn his inspiration for this 
painting from two sources: from the Inferno of Dante, which he 
has practically illustrated in the lower part of the fresco, where 
he has introduced Charon and his boat crossing the River Styx; 
and from the Revelation of St. John, which inspired the upper 
part of the painting. 

As it is badly damaged, I will describe the painting. 
In the upper left-hand corner under the arch is a repre- 
sentation of Paradise, the spirits of the blessed who throng 
the left side of the picture, mounting higher and higher 
until they attain this blessed abode. 

The centre of the painting is occupied by the form of 
the Saviour, who, influenced by the supplications of the 
Virgin Mary, is rewarding the good who occupy the 
space on his right hand, (on our left) and condemning 
the wicked who are on his left-hand and who are dragged 
down by grinning demons to purgatory and even to hell 
itself, which is across the river and in the picture is in the 
lower right-hand corner. 

Truly, it is a terrible and sublime work, full of emo- 
tion and of power, though the walls are cracked and 
broken away, and the colors faded. 

When originally painted, these figures were naked, but 
one of the cardinals, Biagio of Cesena, who was master 
of ceremonies, complained to the Pope that the figures 
were indelicate and that they must be draped. This, 



124 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Michelangelo refused to do, and, by way of retaliation, 
painted out one of the figures in the domain of lost souls 
and introduced that of Cardinal Biagio in its place. 

When the cardinal found this out, he brought the mat- 
ter to the attention of the Pope with the request that he 
command the painter to take him out of the picture. 
This the Pope, who evidently entered into the spirit of 
the thing, refused to do, on the ground that, while he had 
the power to release from purgatory, over hell, where the 
cardinal had been placed, he had no jurisdiction whatever ; 
and so, among souls eternally lost, the cardinal is doomed 
to remain while Michelangelo's work shall last. 

If you will look over the door at the extreme right- 
hand corner of the chapel, you can, even from here, make 
out the form of the cardinal, as it stands wrapped about 
with the folds of the serpent. 

Afterwards the Pope employed a painter, Volterra by 
name, to drape the figures, and the artist who performed 
the task was ever after know r n as " Braghettone," " the 
breeches-maker." 

Here we note an easel on which a freshly painted can- 
vas is resting. Some present-day artist is copying one 
of the gems of art, which are here " as thick as leaves in 
Vallombrosa." 

Before leaving this chapel to visit the Vatican Palace, 
take notice of the gallery, which extends along the side 
walls in front of the windows, a view from which gives 
one a very clear idea of the height of the building. Could 
we look out of those extreme windows on our left we 



THE GRAND CORRIDOR. I 25 

would see the dome of St. Peter's, and if out of those 
on our right we would look over the entire length of the 
Vatican Palace, as we can readily understand by consult- 
ing the map. We are in the east end of the chapel look- 
ing west. When looking over the Vatican Palace from 
the dome of St. Peter's (Stereograph No. 5), we saw one 
end of the roof of this chapel directly below us on our 
right. It was evidently that part of the roof which covers 
the great painting before us. 

We now traverse the length of the chapel and leave it 
by the farther right-hand door, over which the lost cardi- 
nal keeps his ceaseless vigil. Passing through that door- 
way we turn to the right, walk along the corridor near to 
the northern end of the palace, which stretches away di- 
rectly to our right from this building, and look back in 
this direction. On the map we find this next position 
indicated by the number 15 in a circle at the apex of the 
two lines connected with it. 



15. The Grand Corridor of the Vatican Li- 
brary, the Longest Room in the world, 
being over a fifth of a mile long. 

The way to see the most of this magnificent distance 
(and, except in the three rooms nearest us, we are fortu- 
nate in having the shutters open), is to let your glance 
run along the sunlit marble floor as far as possible. 

By the help of our map we know we are now standing 
near the northern end of the long western wing of the 



126 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Vatican and are looking south. If we should look out 
of the windows on our right, we would see the Vatican 
Gardens; from the windows on our left, the Garden of 
the Pigna. Beyond the farthest limit of this magnificent 
corridor is the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. These 
rooms nearest us belong to the Museo Profano or 
Heathen - Museum, which contains the bronze head of 
Augustus, a fine work of art; here, also, is a beautiful 
head of Venus. 

The cupboards or cabinets which you see on either 
side of the corridor contain valuable articles, such as 
Greek and Roman bronzes and oriental jewelry, and even 
the hair of a young lady found in her sarcophagus. 

How the collector of rare old volumes would revel here 
if he could come and choose as he liked ! This section, 
and those beyond, contain in their numerous cabinets the 
Ottobonian library, purchased by Alexander VIII; the 
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, once belonging to the Queen of 
Sweden; and the manuscripts of the Popes, their corre- 
spondence and copies of their public documents, as well 
as the records of the official business of the Vatican. 

In these rooms also are the manuscripts of the Palatine 
library which the Elector Maximilian presented to the 
Pope when the town of Heidelberg was taken in the 
Thirty Years' War. Here, too, is the Urbino Library, 
founded by the Duke Frederigo da Montefeltro in 1690; 
and one room is filled with documents written on papyrus. 

On the top of all these cabinets are placed curious urns, 
lamps, statuettes and altar-pieces, taken from ancient 



THE VATICAN LIBRARY. 1 27 

pyramid and crumbling tomb and gloomy catacomb; 
while the walls and ceilings are frescoed with bright and 
glowing scenes from the lives of the Popes, and ancient 
mosaic pictures of great value, the so-called " Aldobran- 
dine Nuptials " being one of the finest ancient pictures ex- 
tant. The Appartamento Borgia, filled with printed 
books, is shown by special permission only. 

Doubtless, you have observed the small tables, one in 
each section, upon which manuscripts may be laid when 
taken from the cabinets, and the quaint chairs placed be- 
side them. 

About half-way down this hall there is an entrance 
toward the left into the Library of the Vatican, the south- 
ern one of the two transverse buildings which connect 
this long western wing of the Vatican with the long east- 
ern wing. On the map the two red lines connected with 
the number 16 in a circle show our next position in the 
library. 

16. The Library of the Vatican. 

We are standing now with our backs to the long corri- 
dor from which we have just come, and we are facing 
east. Outside the windows on our right is the Court of 
the Belvedere, and beyond it, St. Peter's. We looked 
down to these windows when on St. Peter's dome 
(Stereograph No. 5). 

This is one of the most magnificent halls in the palace. 



128 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

It is two hundred and twenty feet long, forty-eight feet 
wide and twenty-nine feet high. 

You will observe that down the middle of the hall are 
six graceful buttresses which support the vaulted ceilings 
and form a double aisle. We can see five of these pillars 
and the right-hand cabinet nearest us surrounds the 
sixth. We can also discern part of the side wall and 
ceiling of the right-hand aisle. 

The buttresses, walls and ceilings, as you cannot fail 
to notice, are beautifully decorated with frescos, and the 
forty-six cabinets which line the walls and surround the 
pillars are made of the richest and rarest wood. On the 
tables, floor and cabinets are displayed the costly gifts 
which kings and emperors have presented to the Popes. 

In this library are two fine candelabra of Sevres, one 
of which, similar to the one we see before us, was given 
to Pope Pius VII by Napoleon the Great; near by is a 
vase of malachite and another of marble, presented by 
the Czar of Russia ; there, right near us on that table of 
bronze and onyx, is the Sevres vase which was used as a 
baptismal font when the Prince Imperial was baptized. It 
was presented to Pope Pius IX by Napoleon III. The 
second vase is of alabaster, and was given to the same 
Pope by the Khedive of Egypt. 

In this hall also, is shown a malachite cross from 
Prince Demidoff, and two vases of Berlin porcelain from 
the Emperor of Germany, with other presents too numer- 
ous to mention, all, marble floor, rich cabinets, frescoed 
walls and ceilings, and precious gifts, combining to make 



TH E VATICAN LIBRARY. 1 2 9 

the library one of the most splendid compartments in the 
world. 

" But/' you ask, " the books, where are the books? I 
thought this was a library? " 

Well, so it is; and yet it is not to be wondered at that 
you miss the solemn and regular lines of cloth and 
leather book-backs with their titles that usually frown 
down upon you from countless shelves in great libraries. 

Here, as in the corridor of the Library, the books are 
inclosed in those cabinets yonder, and many of the vol- 
umes are in manuscript form. 

It is estimated that the Vatican Library now contains 
two hundred and twenty thousand volumes, of which 
twenty-five thousand are Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, 
Syriac and even Chinese manuscripts. 

The most famous of these manuscripts, such as the 
Codex Vaticanus, the Bible in Greek dating in the fourth 
century ; a copy of Vergil written in the fifth, perhaps in 
the fourth century; of Terence, belonging to the fourth or 
fifth century; and many other classical manuscripts; and 
other valuable, in fact priceless books, are preserved here 
in elegant glass cases. 

Just such a case as the one in front of us, between the 
candelabra and the vase, contains the celebrated Codex 
Vaticanus, which all the wealth of a Croesus could not 
buy. 

Ordinary visitors are allowed no time to carefully ex- 
amine these precious manuscripts, neither are they per- 
mitted to copy them; and, as the pages are turned fre- 



130 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

quently, even scholars cannot, as Teschendorf attempted 
to do, commit a page to memory and then go out and 
write down the contents. 

For several hours each day and for a few months in 
the year, the library may be visited by those procuring a 
special permission, but it is to be regretted that its vast 
treasures are not more generally accessible to the scholars 
of the world. The reading-rooms are at the extreme or 
eastern end of this spacious hall, and when open are 
usually thronged with visitors. 

Leaving the library by a door back of our present 
position, we retrace our steps into the corridor of the li- 
brary and proceed to the extreme northeast corner of 
the palace and enter the Gallery of Statues. The red lines 
with the number 17 give the position on the map. 



j/. The Gallery of Statues. 

This hall was once the summer-house of the popes, but 
Pius VI arranged it as a gallery for statuary, in recog- 
nition of the fact, that while the prominent and distinctive 
feature of the Vatican must ever be its religious charac- 
ter, yet, apart from this, it is an inexhaustible treasure- 
house of art, preserving for mankind not only the aston- 
ishing works of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel and 
the peerless frescoes of Raphael in the Loggia, but also 
some of the greatest works of art belonging to antiquity 
which lay for centuries hidden away in the soil of Italy. 



GREEK ART. I3 1 

This gallery into which we are now looking abounds 
with ancient sculpture, which has been dug from the 
ground by the shovel of the excavator. 

Our eyes wander through the marble hall and rest 
upon this multitude of snowy forms, and while no word 
falls from the cool, smooth lips, yet they seem almost to 
be alive. Such strength and symmetry of figure, such 
beauty of outline, such grace and witchery of pose could 
belong only to the Greeks, and these statues are the 
product of Greek art. 

With the Greeks, education had but two general di- 
visions, and all culture was classed under one or the 
other of these: gymnastics, which included everything 
that related to the strengthening and harmonious devel- 
opment of the human form; and music, which in its 
broadest sense, included not singing alone but every- 
thing pertaining to the human voice and its cultivation. 
In this connection there would therefore be demanded the 
study of religion, rhetoric, logic, philosophy, history and 
poetry. 

Nothing but the highest culture could possibly have 
produced the statues in this famous gallery, containing 
as it does, some of the greatest works of the mighty dead ; 
for, when Rome conquered Greece, she was wise enough 
to absorb her great culture and utilize her highest genius. 

Yet even these statues have not escaped the merciless 
exactions of art criticism, and while it may be true that 
they never were quite as flawless as we have been wont 
to think, it remains, nevertheless, an indisputable fact that 



132 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

they are the best we have. We are told that Hawthorne, 
bending down, took in his fingers, one day, a half-blown 
rose, as pure and beautiful as a thought of God, which in 
reality it was, and smiling radiantly, he remarked, " This 
is perfect ! On earth, a flower only can be perfect." 

Direct your glance to the centre of the gallery. The 
alabaster urn nearest us is remarkably fine and once con- 
tained the ashes of one of the royal Julian family. 

The large basin, also in the centre of the hall, is of 
oriental alabaster, and was found near the church of SS. 
Apostoli; the Cinerary Urn, beyond the basin, has en- 
graved upon it the names of the three children of Ger- 
manicus. 

In this gallery, but outside the limits of our vision, is 
the famed Barberini candelabra, the largest and the finest 
in existence. It was found in Hadrian's villa. 

Our space will not permit us to describe the different 
statues in this hall; it would require a whole volume to 
do justice to them all, chief among which is the smiling 
faun (a copy of the Faun of Praxiteles in the Museum 
of the Capitol), the graceful Apollo, the beautiful Venus, 
and Pan, the universal god, in whose laugh echo the joys 
of earth. 

Before leaving the palace, we must examine by itself 
one of its greatest works of art; and, in order to do so, 
we will pass through a doorway just back of our present 
position, and walk along the adjacent Hall of Busts, 
where, through the long years, patiently wait the curly- 



THE FAMOUS LAOCOON. 1 33 

headed Marcus Aurelius; the youthful Augustus, with 
the thin lips and sharp nose; the dull, blunt-headed Ha- 
drian, with his hair drawn down over his forehead; and 
the cruel Caracalla, who suggests the present-day pugi- 
list or an Italian bandit, whom one might well dread to 
meet by night on a lonely road. 

Then, turning to the right, we reach the Cortile del 
Belvedere (consult the map of the Vatican), which we 
cross diagonally, and, at length, in the southwest corner 
we find ourselves face to face with the world's greatest 
representation of human emotion, the Laocoon group. 

18. Agony— The Famous Group of Laocoon. 

This was discovered on the Esquiline, in 1506, when 
Julian II was pope. Subsequently, it narrowly escaped 
being destroyed by Adrian VI, who, when he beheld it, 
turned away shuddering, as he exclaimed, " Idol of the 
Pagans! " The group is in Pentelic marble and consists 
of several blocks of stone. The three uplifted arms have 
been restored, by Cornacchini and Montorsoli, not, how- 
ever, by Michelangelo, as some have said. 

It was formerly thought that this was the group which 
stood in Titus' palace, referred to by Pliny in his thirty- 
sixth book : " T,he fame of many sculptors is less 
diffused, because the number employed upon great works 
prevented the celebrity of each ; for there is no one artist 
to receive the honor of the work, and where there are 
more than one, they cannot all obtain an equal fame, 



134 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Of this, the Laocoon is an example, which stands in the 
palace of the Emperor Titus, a work which may be con- 
sidered superior to all other productions, both in paint- 
ing and statuary. The whole group, — the father, the 
boys and the awful folds of the serpent, — were formed out 
of a single block, in accordance with a vote of the senate, 
by Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, Rhodian 
sculptors of the highest merit." 

Notwithstanding the fact that the three names men- 
tioned above are cut on the figures of this group, modern 
art criticism is almost unanimously agreed that what we 
have here is not the original, but a most wonderful copy; 
and this opinion is strengthened by the fact that this 
group is made from several blocks of marble. 

Shelley's estimate of this work was that " nothing in 
antiquity could surpass it." As a group, it certainly 
stands unrivaled. Michelangelo was a master judge and 
he declared it to be " a marvel of art." 

The more carefully and patiently we study it the more 
we appreciate its pre-eminence in the world of art. 

At the outset, a superficial designation of the work 
would be, that we have here a father and his two sons, 
strangled by serpents, at the command of the enraged 
Apollo. Now, as we examine it more minutely, we dis- 
cover intense physical agony, against which the father 
rebels with his whole soul and which is depicted on his 
noble face. In the posture of his body, in the swelling of 
his muscles, in the heaving of his chest, there is more than 
a mighty effort to free himself from the crushing slimy 



THE FAMOUS LAOCOON. 1 35 

folds; there is also the working of the deadly poison 
which is fast making its way to the heart, the citadel of 
the man's life. And, as he feels the battle going against 
him, an unutterable anguish fills his soul. 

As for the boys, two emotions are portrayed in their 
attitude and expression: first, overwhelming despair, in 
which, with uplifted hands, they appeal for help to their 
father; and second, filial devotion, as, with infinite com- 
passion, they witness his appalling sufferings. This is 
strikingly apparent in the face of the elder boy, whose 
eyes are fixed on his father's face with a passionate gaze; 
observe that his lips are partly open as if to utter some 
cry of love or tender sympathy. Yet all the time his own 
body is aflame with poison and quivering with pain, but 
he only indicates his agony by the uplifting of the left 
foot from which he strives in vain to thrust off the fold 
of the serpent. 

The younger brother is in the last throes of anguish, his 
right hand is raised despairingly, his left clutches the ser- 
pent's head, his beautiful face already suggests death; 
a heart-breaking, soul-wrenching shriek, and the eyes 
will close, the head will fall back and the battle will be 
over. 

" Go see 
Laocoon's torture, dignifying pain — 
A father's love and mortal agony 
With an immortal patience blending ! " 

Suppose now, we leave this group, step out into the 
glad Italian sunshine, and take a look at one of the fairest 



136 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

spots in the Vatican Gardens. We leave the Palace by 
the door almost directly west of the Court of the Belve- 
dere (marked " entrance " on the map), and enter the 
Court of the Archives, and standing at the point indi- 
cated by the apex of the angle made by the two red lines 
at which is the number 19, we look away from the Palace 
into the midst of the Gardens. 



ig. Bower of St. Anthony f Vatican Gardens. 

In this lovely seclusion, we will not find it hard to 
forget the illusive hopes and stormy raptures of human 
life, which, as with Laocoon, are too often followed by 
the reaction of intense pain and crushing despair. 

We may feast our eyes on this lovely vista shut in by 
partitions of box and laurel, high as groves of oak. If 
we had time to linger here, we might form the acquaint- 
ance of those two young priests who are enjoying this 
cool retreat. 

Just such avenues as this cross and recross one an- 
other in all parts of the garden, but some are lined with 
orange-trees cut into hedges, in which the golden fruit 
and the perfumed alabaster blossoms give a delightful 
animation to the foliage. 

Here, in this bower before us, are some old olive trees, 
the huge branches of one of them extending almost over 
our heads, and the other, beside which that young priest 
is standing, has been propped up. To my mind, the 
olive is one of the most fascinating of trees, its gnarled 



A WORLD FAMED GARDEN. 1 37 

and twisted trunk covered with course-ribbed bark looks 
like a warrior's armor battered in a hundred fights; and 
its wealth of silver-gray leaves gives a tender and poetic 
hue to any landscape. 

In this world- famed garden, here and there along shady 
paths specked with sunshine sifting through the over- 
hanging leaves, one comes upon picturesque grottoes, 
fairy-like summer-houses, and even antique tombs; and 
sometimes, as in this place to our right, a gardener's cot- 
tage covered with tiles. 

Beside these numerous avenues there is a drive of two 
and a half miles around the garden, and this is frequently 
enjoyed by the Pope. When out driving it is his custom 
to stop the carriage and take a short walk. In order that 
he may be undisturbed in his rambles, visitors are rigor- 
ously excluded from the gardens, although from the 
dome of St. Peter's, which casts its vast shadow over 
the Vatican grounds, one occasionally catches a glimpse 
of the pontiff in his brief strolls. 

There is nothing remarkable or unusual about this 
Eden of the Pope, but the spell it weaves over the soul 
is the result of a happy combination of light and color, 
of grove and fountain, of cooling shade and musical 
stream and luscious fruit; while the air, even in mid- 
winter, is perfumed with the fragrance of the flowers. So 
restful and satisfying is it all, that it would seem impossi- 
ble for the most fastidious taste to suggest any improve- 
ment in its delightful arrangement. 



138 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

For a considerable time we have been giving our at- 
tention to the great centre of Rome's religious power, 
now we turn again to places and ruins made famous dur- 
ing the years of her political supremacy as well. Our 
first halting place will be before the Castle of St. Angelo, 
little more than half a mile east of St. Peter's. On the 
large map of modern Rome we find the number 21 in a 
circle on the lower side of the Tiber in front of the castle 
and the two red lines which branch from that place to- 
ward the north. 

Therefore let us go down once more to the Tiber and 
examine some structures that more than any now exist- 
ing are identified with the warlike days of Rome. 

20. The Bridge and Castle of St. Angelo. 

That is a fine bridge for one that has spanned the river 
for eighteen hundred years. When built in A. D. 136, it 
was called the Pons Aelius, and it was the purpose of 
Hadrian who constructed it, to have it used simply as an 
approach to his magnificent mausoleum, as another bridge 
was opened to the public near by. While you can count 
but five arches to the bridge, one between each of the 
statues, originally there were eight, but the three not seen 
have been built into the embankment. The bridge, as it 
stands to-day, is ancient, except its parapets. 

The statue nearest us, at the beginning of the left- 
hand parapet, represents the Apostle Paul and is by Paolo 
Romano ; opposite to it, but not seen from here, is one of 



ASHES OF THE EMPERORS. 139 

the Apostle Peter by Lorenzetto. The other ten colossal 
statues are of angels, by Bernini, dating 1668. These 
designs were made in accordance with the purpose of 
Clement IX, that " an avenue of the heavenly host should 
be assembled to welcome the pilgrims to the shrine of 
the Great Apostle," referring to this bridge as the ap- 
proach to the church of St. Peter. 

Beyond this bridge is the renowned Castle of St. An- 
gelo. Originally a tomb, the massive structure was built 
by the Emperor Hadrian for himself and his successors, 
because the last niche in the grand mausoleum of Au- 
gustus was filled when the ashes of Nerva were placed 
there. 

This imposing tomb contained, in addition to the 
above, the ashes of Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Lucius 
Verus, Marcus Aurelius, ' Commodus and Septimius 
Severus ; the ashes of the last named being placed in an 
urn of gold inclosed in alabaster. 

The construction of this imperial mausoleum was char- 
acterized by a solidity and a splendor of which, in its 
present state, we can form but an imperfect idea. First, 
there was a huge foundation of stone, now concealed by 
rubbish, three hundred and forty-two feet square. From 
this arose a circular tower of travertine, two hundred 
and forty feet in diameter and covered with the richest 
Parian marble. The circumference of the vast rotunda 
had pilasters, surmounted with a circle of Greek statues, 
the whole resting on a base of marble decorated with 
festoons and engraved with sepulchral inscriptions. 



140 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Facing the cardinal points of the compass were four 
colossal equestrian groups in gilt bronze, while the whole 
structure was crowned by a gigantic bronze statue of 
Hadrian, only the head of which has been preserved, and 
is now in the Vatican Museum. Others maintain that 
not the statue of Hadrian but the pine cone in the Pigna 
Garden of the Vatican was on the summit of the tomb. 

In the reign of Hadrian, Rome attained its greatest 
height of architectural grandeur and the decline of the 
city dates from his time. 

In 537, A. D., this wonderful structure was still in a 
fine state of preservation, but the Goths under Vitigis, 
having attacked the city, the tomb was turned into a 
fortress and its statues were broken in order to hurl the 
pieces on the assailants, and from that day to the present 
time, it has been the scene of more combat and blood- 
shed than any other spot in Rome. Often have the 
storm-clouds of war burst over its head in fearful horror 
and terrific force, and quite as often has the Tiber flowed 
a river of blood at its feet. Observe how the lower part 
of its walls are battered from the pounding of huge 
catapults and other weapons of conflict. 

In the year 590, Pope Gregory the Great headed a pro- 
cession, walking with naked feet, through the streets of 
the city, then decimated by a plague. As he reached this 
bridge, bemoaning the misery of the city, suddenly above 
the castle he saw, it is said, starting out from the clouds 
the radiant form of the Archangel Michael, who was in 
the act of sheathing his fiery sword. This became to the 



STATUE OF THE ANGEL. 141 

Pope a symbol of hope; and, indeed, the plague is said 
to have ceased almost immediately. 

The bronze statue representing the angel with out- 
stretched wings sheathing his sword, which we now see 
on the top of the castle and from which the castle de- 
rives its name, is in commemoration of this event. The 
statue is a prodigious affair, but whether worthy of spe- 
cial praise or not, I cannot say, for it is too far away to 
tell; nevertheless, it serves its purpose well, which is to 
call to mind the vision. 

Have you observed in looking at the castle that it is 
surrounded by another wall? We should not plead that 
we have no means at hand by which to ascertain its 
height. With a little comparative work on our part we 
can come pretty near making the right estimate. Look 
at the angel on the parapet of the bridge — the one near- 
est the castle. We know, for we mentioned it before, that 
the angel is ten feet high, and bearing this in mind we 
can readily conclude that the wall must be about forty 
feet in height ; and we are right. Now we have a stand- 
ard by which to measure the height of the castle itself. 
Each one can do this on his own account for our purpose 
should be to look for ourselves. There is a world of in- 
spiration, pleasure and instruction in scenes like these, if 
only we know how to see, and this simple, comparative 
method is a most important element in the problem. 

There was probably in the old days some structure 
surmounting the great cylindrical one, only much small- 
er of course, but the superstructure which contains the 



142 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

clock, as we see it now — and if you examine it, you will 
agree with me that it is quite enormous in size — is of 
modern origin. 

The ancient entrance to the tomb, as was before re- 
marked, is near the middle height of the structure, and 
was approached by stone steps set into the wall of the 
mausoleum. 

On entering to-day, you find yourself in a vaulted and 
inclined passage-way, both lofty and broad, which circles 
around the whole interior of the structure in spiral form, 
from the base to the summit. For long centuries this 
passage-way was filled with debris and men forgot its ex- 
istence. 

Starting at the top and groping your way through the 
increasing darkness, led only by the light of a single 
torch twinkling in the cavernous gloom, it is not to be 
wondered at that you imagine that you see the ghosts of 
the illustrious dead whose ashes were deposited there; 
and hear, long before you reach the bottom of the vast 
castle, the piteous cries of the poor victims once im- 
prisoned in its dungeons. 

This passage-way is thirty feet wide and eleven feet 
high, and two carriages could be driven abreast in it ; the 
walls are reeking with slime as though they were hun- 
dreds of feet below the ground, and at every step the 
pavement oozes beneath one's feet. Originally, the walls 
of this giant hallway were lined with precious marble, 
and its floor was paved with costly mosaics, portions of 
which may still be found under the accumulated dirt. 



INTERIOR OF ST. ANGELO. 1 43 

For a small gratuity, the guide takes an old marble can- 
non-ball — and there are many of them piled up on the top 
of the castle — and, with all his force, sends it bounding 
down the hollow, curving way, resounding and bellowing, 
awakening thunderous^ echoes, until at last, it dies away 
in one final crash that seems to issue from the very depths 
of the earth. 

Within the castle is shown the dungeon where Beatrice 
Cenci — whose portrait, painted by Guido Reni in the 
Barberini Palace is characterized by Hawthorne as " the 
most profoundly wrought picture in the world " — is said 
to have been imprisoned for more than a year. There, 
also, is shown the cell of Benvenuto Cellini, the artist- 
soldier and necromancer ; and it is interesting to see the 
place, in the centre of the tomb and lighted from above, 
where Hadrian's ashes were deposited, and where they 
were discovered more than a thousand years ago, when 
they were taken out and scattered to the winds of heaven. 

Grand and enduring old structure is this, and never 
but once has it been taken by force. Intricate and for- 
midable it is, even to-day, with its ancient draw-bridges, 
its broad esplanades and its pyramids of old marble can- 
non-balls. 

Doubtless, you have been wondering to what use that 
superstructure, which you see graced by a clock, can be 
put. Well, the floor on a level with the upper half of the 
clock, is utilized as a prison. There the heat down-pour- 
ing on the flat roof would be unendurable, were it not 
for the cooling breeze and the extended view — one of 



144 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the finest that can be enjoyed in Rome. The lower floor 
is used as officers' quarters and contains accommoda- 
tions for soldiers to the extent of a hundred beds. 

Have you overlooked that old bell to the left of the 
angel? It does not seem to amount to much, but if 
it were upon the ground beside you it would appear, as 
it really is, one of the largest bells in Rome. Often has 
it rung out in times of danger and alarm. 

More than three hundred years ago many works of 
art were found in the moat surrounding the castle. 
There were the bronze head of Hadrian, now in the Vat- 
ican ; the Barberini Faun, now in Munich, and the Danc- 
ing Faun of the Uffizzi Gallery in Florence ; all of which, 
together with others less noted, were disturbed from their 
long interment of more than twelve hundred years. 

I know not how others feel, but as for myself, when 
looking at the grim, savage, old mausoleum rising with 
royal mien upon its solid foundation of unshaken rock, 
its sides dented and scarred by every conceivable weapon 
of war, I seem to disregard entirely the white, glistening, 
snowy tomb of the great Emperor, and think, alone, of 
the gloomy, majestic castle; and I find myself thinking 
how strange w r ould be the tale and how fascinating the 
story, if it could speak. It could tell of garrisons that 
have kept ward on its ramparts, and could portray the 
tragedies of those lion-hearted warriors who scaled its 
mighty walls, only to be hurled back over its battlements, 
or who lingered through a long, dark night, in its foul 
and narrow dungeons. I have often rejoiced as I have 



RIVER, CASTLE AND CHURCH. 1 45 

crossed the Pons Aelius and wended my way homeward, 
that my journey hither was not taken in those far-off 
turbulent days. 

We will now take our stand a short distance to the 
right of our present position, a little farther up the river, 
in order to get one of the most unique views in Rome — 
a view of the greatest castle, the greatest palace and the 
greatest church in the world. We shall be looking, as 
the number 21 and the red lines on the map show, prac- 
tically to the west. 



zi. The Tiber, the Castle of St. Angelo and 
St. Peter's Church. 

How the dome seems to tower into the clouds! Just 
to the right of it, over the houses nearer us, can be seen 
the Vatican palace, with its upper windows and broad, 
sloping roofs. 

From this point of view the superstructure of the castle 
may be seen to good advantage, but, perhaps, not so 
much can be said of the angel, who has more the appear- 
ance of an eagle than of a celestial being. 

One who is looking at this place will probably have 
several questions to ask at once, and one is, " What 
bridge is that just before us?" And if I answer, as I 
shall, the Pons Aelius, the same in front of which we 
were standing in our last position, you will reply : " But 
the bridge looks so different, this one has high curving 



146 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

superstructure of iron work, and the bridge we saw be- 
fore had only marble parapets. " You are partly right. 
But look again, this time more carefully, and you will 
recognize the parapet nearest us, which may be seen 
plainly where the bridge approaches the opposite bank, 
as belonging to the Pons Aelius, the forms of its angels 
standing out some distance this side of the iron super- 
structure which belongs to another bridge beyond. The 
more distant iron bridge is of modern construction and 
was built to relieve the strain on the Pons Aelius, when it 
was discovered that the middle arches of the old bridge 
were giving away under the weight of nearly eighteen 
hundred years, during which it has braved tempest and 
earthquake and the shock of battle. 

Looking at the older bridge now, I can but call to mind 
the incident in the life of the famous Scotchman, Thomas 
Carlyle, whose father was a stonemason, and one who 
had in his soul the spirit of the old Romans even if their 
blood did not flow in his veins. "Ah, father," he said 
musingly, patting the stone butments of a bridge his 
father had constructed many years before over a rush- 
ing mountain stream among the highlands of Scotland, 
" your bridges will last longer than my books." 

And indeed, how few books, though written by the 
greatest intellects in ancient Rome, have lasted as long 
as this grand old bridge. 

Again we will move away from the great dome, for 
by thus changing our position we shall the more fully ap- 



SOUTHWEST FROM MONTE PINCIO. 147 

predate its beauty and grandeur. This time we will go 
to the Pineian Hill, one of the most delightful spots in 
Rome. We saw the tree-filled gardens on the hill in the 
distance to our left when looking from St. Peter's (Stereo- 
graph No. 4). On the map some distance north of our 
present position we find the Piazza del Popolo. On the 
terrace northeast of that space is the number 22 in a 
circle with two bounding lines for our next field of vision 
branching toward the southwest. 



zz. Looking Southwest from Monte Pincio. 
St. Peter* } s in the Distance. 

There is the Piazza del Popolo just below us. This 
Circle and the Pincio Gardens behind us are used as the 
public promenade of the city ; its charming avenues and 
shady paths are brightened by the glint of the sunshine 
upon the busts and statues of distinguished Romans 
which are found on every hand. 

On pleasant afternoons, a bright and lively throng of 
people resorts to this fascinating place, and elegant 
equipages roll along and riders dash by on handsomely 
caparisoned horses, while a military band dispenses 
animated music that penetrates to the remotest part of the 
garden, and even to the busy streets of the city below. 

We have advanced to the parapet of the Pincio, and the 
prospect from this terrace is one of the most interesting 
to be seen anywhere in the world. Grey, who wrote the 
" Elegy in a Country Churchyard," entered Rome, in 



148 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

1739, by the Porta del Popolo, which is just to our right, 
and stood where we are now standing ; and as he looked 
out over the city he enthusiastically exclaimed that this 
view was the most picturesque and noble he had ever 
imagined. 

The centre of the Piazza del Popolo below us is the 
position of that fine obelisk, which might be seen entirely 
if it were not for this coatless Roman who so contentedly 
sits with turned-in toes on the stone coping, contemplat- 
ing the glory of his native city. The obelisk, whose hiero- 
glyphics we see even from our present position, was 
brought to Rome by the Emperor Augustus, who placed 
it in the Circus Maximus, as a gift to the Sun, and it was 
set up in this Piazza, by Sixtus V, in 1587. As the sym- 
bol of the sun, it originally had a blazing orb at its sum- 
mit. Its stay in Rome, although two thousand years in 
duration, is but a part of its history, for it was hewn in 
long past ages and originally set in position beside the 
Nile, perhaps many years before Romulus built the walls 
of his city. 

The first day I was in Rome I went with three com- 
panions to this Piazza, and we stood near this shaft, with 
the four-fold fountain at its base. There is no better 
starting point for a stranger in all the city. 

The church which you see facing the piazza on the 
left, is the Church of S. Maria de' Miracoli, and the 
street between it and that fine corner building opposite, 
the one with the awnings on the ground floor, is the Via 
di Ripetta, along which w r e walked when we went to see 



LITERARY LANDMARKS. 1 49 

the Castle of St. Angelo and St. Peter's. Leading from 
out that street, toward the river, several blocks from here, 
is the Via dell' Orso, on which stood for centuries the 
famous Bear Hotel. Montague stayed there, and Dante 
made it his home whenever he came to Rome, as he fre- 
quently did, in the capacity of ambassador of Florence to 
the Pope of Rome. 

Between the church just referred to and the corner of 
the building seen to the extreme left is another church, 
that of S. Maria di Monte Santo. You can see the shadow 
of its dome on the pavement. The street which separates 
the two churches is the famous Corso, which leads to the 
Capitol and the Roman Forum. You can see its long, 
straight course on the map. The Corso was the great 
centre of attraction in the gay and festive days of the 
Carnival, when a window facing upon the street brought 
a fabulous price. 

Between these two churches at the time of the Carnival 
cables were stretched across the entrance to the Corso, 
and there in the square were placed horses without har- 
ness or bridles, without riders, free as when they roamed 
the desert. Restively they wandered to and fro in the 
narrow space allotted to them. The street was cleared, 
and, at a given signal, the cables were dropped, and with 
lash or burning fagot, the steeds were started down the 
long narrow Corso, the houses on either side being filled 
with life and tumult as the terrified animals rushed by. 

At the other end of the Corso is the balcony where the 
senators sit, and that is the goal. The owner of the win- 



ISO ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ning horse received the prize, the expense of which was 
borne by die Jews in Rome, as it has been even from the 
time of the Middle Ages when they were compelled to 
render tribute as a substitute for feudal service. It was 
this wild horse race that gave the street its name — the 
Corso, the course. 

Goethe, in his visit to Rome, lived in an apartment in 
the house 15-20 Via del Corso, only a few steps from this 
Piazza. He used to style himself while here, " The 
man who lives across the way from the Rondanini Pal- 
ace." This palace can be seen on the map two blocks 
from this square. Charles VIII, when here, dwelt at the 
other end of the Corso in the great Venetian Palace. 

Readers of Hawthorne's fascinating and instructive ro- 
mance, entitled the " Marble Faun " (in England " The Trans- 
formation "), will call to mind with singular interest the au- 
thor's reference to " Hilda's Tower." It is situated in an out- 
of-the-way corner of the city in a short, narrow street, the Via 
Portoghese which, as you can ascertain from the map, is just 
west of the Corso a half mile to our left It is one of those 
medieval watch towers that abound in Rome. The Romans call 
it the Tower of the Monkey from the legend, that, years ago, a 
monkey seized a child on the street and climbed with it to the 
summit of the tower, while the parents vowed that if ever they 
received the child unharmed, they would erect a shrine to the 

rgin. Thereupon, to the surprise of all, the monkey brought 
down the child, and, as a result, the shrine was erected. 

The street between this second church, which we do 
not see, and the corner of the building seen to our ex- 
treme left is the Via di Babuino, and leads into the Piazza 



THREE WORLD-FAMOUS PIAZZAS. 151 

di Spagna, scarcely more than a quarter of a mile from us, 
the centre of the English and American colonies in Rome. 

Beside the Piazza San Pietro, three piazzas in Rome 
are world-famous, the Piazza di Trevi, the Piazza del 
Popolo and the Piazza di Spagna. 

In 181 7 Byron paid a visit to the city and lived in No. 
85 Piazza di Spagna; and at No. 26, in the same square, 
the gifted English poet, John Keats, died. 

Adjacent to this Piazza del Popolo to our right beyond 
the range of our vision (see map), is the highly ornate and 
elegant church of S. Maria del Popolo. In the convent 
beside this church, Luther lived during his stay in Rome. 
Here he attended mass upon his arrival in the city and 
here, also, he celebrated it for the last time before he de- 
parted for his home. 

Right at the foot of the terrace in front of us, between 
our position and the piazza, at the base of what then was 
called " the Hill of Gardens/' the Emperor Nero was 
buried A. D. 68. His tomb was of porphyry, having a 
richly adorned altar of Luna marble and was surrounded 
by a superb balustrade of Thasos marble. No trace of it 
remains at the present day. Some authorities place the 
site of Nero's tomb where the church of S. Maria del 
Popolo now stands, and there is a legend which says that 
out of this tomb grew a huge walnut tree which became 
the resort of innumerable crows — so numerous that, at 
times, those living in the neighborhood often mistook the 
flock for a storm cloud. Paschal II dreamed that these 
crows were demons and that he was commanded by the 



152 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Holy Virgin to cut the tree down and build a church on 
the spot, which he did 1099 A. D., the Church of S. Maria 
del Popolo. 

Out through the Porta del Popolo to our right, beside 
the church of the same name, is the road which leads 
around to the north and behind us to the Borghese Villa 
and Gardens (plainly seen on the map), Raphael's favorite 
resort, and a delightful place for a stroll when one is 
satiated with the ruins and palaces of the city. There the 
flowers bloom most sweetly and the fountains toss their 
streams of bending light into the fragrant air ; and there, 
it was my privilege, one glorious day in early summer, to 
meet King Humbert and Queen Marguerite and the pres- 
ent King, then the Prince of Naples, all of whom, in re- 
turn for my salute, greeted me with a pleasant bow. And 
there, too, is a beautiful palace, although called a villa, the 
Villa Borghese, to which we have referred and which will 
well repay a visit. 

Through this square at our feet, too, we remember, 
ran the old Flaminian Way, over which Caesar and his 
legions passed backward and forth on their way to and 
from Gaul. 

But in that wide expanse before us, with splendid hotels 
and fine modern edifices, two imposing structures claim 
all our attention and fill the whole horizon. One is the 
Castle of St. Angelo. And where is it, do you ask ? Let 
us trace it out together, and then, look almost where you 
will, you cannot fail to see it. 

We will start with that corner house with the awnings 



MEMORABLE SPORTS. 153 

opposite the Church of S. Maria de' Miracoli, the one fac- 
ing the piazza on our left. Then, beginning at the left- 
hand corner of the building, look over the third window of 
the top floor to the whitened end of that structure, a short 
distance beyond. Now, look over that white wall, and 
beyond it, toward the distant Janiculum Hill, where St. 
Peter is said to have suffered martyrdom, and you will see 
a tall structure whitening in sunlight, surmounted by a 
piece of statuary, rising above the skyline; beneath this 
structure, which is, in reality, a superstructure, you can 
discern, if you examine it closely, the embattled summit of 
a huge fortress — that is the Castle of St. Angelo. 

To the right of the Castle of St. Angelo, at the northern 
extremity of the Janiculum Hill, is seen the Villa Barberini 
again, surrounded by its gardens. In that section were 
the house and gardens of Sallust, which was probably de- 
stroyed by fire A. D. 410, though portions of it still 
remain. One cannot but regret that the growth of the 
modern city is crowding this memorable spot and ob- 
literating so much that is of historic value. 

But, overshadowing everything else, is that stately pile 
of buildings surmounted by a dome so vast and grand that 
it seems impossible that it can be the work of men's hands. 
Near the church you cannot appreciate its grandeur, be- 
cause the portion nearest to you absorbs your thought 
and dwarfs your conception of the whole ; but, standing at 
this distance, we can get the proper perspective and see the 
magnificent proportions of what is perhaps the most ma- 
jestic structure ever built by the hand of man. To the left 



154 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

of the church and the Vatican is seen a portion of the wall 
of Leo IV, and if you will look up the street to the right 
of the obelisk, straight in front of us, you will see a tower 
built on this wall. This tower is now used as an observa- 
tory, and is one hundred and eighty-seven feet above the 
sea, and commands an unlimited view over the Campagna 
and the coast. The wall was constructed for the defense 
of the Vatican Palace and St. Peter's as a result of the 
first Saracenic invasion, 846 A. D. It was evidently the 
intention of Leo to imitate the Aurelian walls inclosing the 
city, and in order to prosecute the work laborers were 
drafted from every town and monastery in Italy, the Pope 
continually encouraging the builders by his presence. 
The walls are twelve feet thick and vary in height from 
fifty-three feet to seventy-seven feet in more exposed 
places, and are crowned with round towers at regular in- 
tervals. 

What person having sat and dreamed under the noble, 
wide-spreading trees that abound on the Pincio, back of 
us, and having looked out over this historic spot, can ever 
forget this magnificent scene? Nearest us are the mod- 
ern buildings, and beyond are the old city's peaked and 
mossy roofs clustering one above another, covering the 
vast plain, out from which rise the stern old castle and the 
myriad domes, above whose centre, like a celestial city set 
on a hill of purple, towers the sublime Cathedral of Chris- 
tendom, vast as if sculptured by the giants of prehistoric 
ages, and beautiful as though touched and garnished by 
angels' hands. It is a prospect contemplating which one 



THE PANTHEON. 1 55 

is disposed to linger, and when at length we turn away it 
is with the conviction that we must be going, but we can- 
not say that we are glad to be gone. 

We shall now direct our attention to the most ancient, 
and, in many respects, the most remarkable building now 
standing in Rome. We find its position on the map a 
mile south of us, a few blocks west of the Corso. The 
red lines there show that we are to stand on the north of 
the Pantheon and look slightly east of south. 

Z3. " Sanctuary and Home of Art and Piety- 
Pantheon ; Pride of Rome." 

We can readily read the inscription, except the letter 
" A '' and part of the letter " G," on the frieze of the 
portico — M. Agrippa L. F. Cos. Tertium Fecit — which 
informs us that the building was erected by Marcus 
Agrippa in his third consulate on this spot, 27 B. C. The 
building was consecrated as a " Temple to Mars and 
Venus " and was filled with statues of gods, and also con- 
tained one of Julius Caesar. The original building, 
which was rectangular in shape, was burnt down in the 
year 80, in the reign of Titus, and rebuilt by Domitian. 
It was again destroyed by fire in no in the reign of 
Trajan, but rebuilt by Hadrian in the year 120 A. D. 
Still, the columns, capitals and entablature of the portico 
with the inscription to which we have referred, belong to 
the original structure. 



156 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

In 608, Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon as a 
Christian Church and called it Santa Maria ad Martyres, 
and to this circumstance alone is due the fact that it re- 
mains to the present day the best preserved monument of 
ancient Rome. It was to commemorate this dedication 
and to Christianize the name of the Pantheon (all gods) 
that the Pope instituted the Feast of All Saints, which 
occurs on the 1st of November each year. It is to be 
regretted that in 655 A. D. Constance II took off the 
greater part of the bronze tiles that covered the roof and 
intended to remove them to Constantinople, but they fell 
into the hands of the Saracens. Urban VIII finished up 
this work of plunder by melting down the tiles that Con- 
stance had left for the twisted bronze columns of the 
High Altar of St. Peter's. According to Lanciani it was 
used only for the guns of the Castle of St. Angelo. 

As you see, the portico is supported by sixteen col- 
umns, eight of which are in the front row, the earliest 
examples of the Corinthian order in Rome. All the col- 
umns are original and in the same position in which they 
were placed by the hand of Hadrian's builders, except the 
three on our left. The extreme left-hand column in the 
front row was erected by Urban VIII in 1627, and con- 
tains his emblem, a Barbarini bee on the capital, which 
you may try to see for yourself. Each of these columns 
is composed of a single block of Egyptian granite, 
and is forty-six and one-half feet high and five feet 
in diameter. All but one of those in the front row are 
gray, the rest of the columns are red. The dimensions of 



A MAJESTIC STRUCTURE. 157 

the building are so harmonious, that they are deceptive, 
causing it to appear smaller than it really is, for in truth 
it is a building of considerable size. An idea of the exact 
size of the structure can best be obtained by comparing 
it with the five-story buildings seen first to the left ; you 
cannot fail to notice how the dome of the Pantheon tow- 
ers above them. The interior is a rotunda one hundred 
and forty-three feet in diameter ; the portico is one hun- 
dred and ten feet long, and forty-four feet deep. On 
the left of the door as you enter the building is an in- 
scription recording the fact that Urban VIII, in 1632, 
melted the remains of the bronze roof for the construc- 
tion of the baldacchino on the High Altar at St. Peter's, 
and that it was also made into cannon for the Castle of 
St. Angelo. About two hundred tons of bronze were re- 
moved from the roof of the Pantheon at that time. It is 
well that the plunderers left intact the bronze rim of the 
circular opening in the dome, otherwise the stability of 
the dome itself would have been imperiled. What a 
scene of indescribable magnificence this wonderful build- 
ing must have presented to the eye with its freshly gleam- 
ing red and gray granite pillars and its pilasters and pol- 
ished walls of rarest marble, surmounted by its gilded 
dome flashing in the sunlight ! You can see the marble 
casing of the doorway and also the high marble doors, 
which I am glad the despoilers were generous enough to 
leave unmolested. That doorway is thirty-nine feet high 
and nineteen feet w T ide. Over it is the ancient bronze 
grating which has been preserved intact. On either side 



158 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

of the entrance there stood, originally, bronze statues oi 
Augustus and Agrippa, but only the niches remain. 

Those old gray walls, battered by the storms and rav- 
ages of the long centuries, have almost an air of human 
weariness about them, as though they realized that they 
belonged to the one structure in Rome that is apparently 
doomed to abide forever, since it stands alone among the 
remains of the ancient city, surveying the ruin that has 
seized upon temple and tower and stately arch. Con- 
templating this unique building, it is certainly a matter 
for congratulation that its pillars are still majestic, while 
its comrades in architecture, reared in that far imperial 
time — even the most massive of them — have left but 

" Two or three columns and many a stone, 
Marble and granite, with grass o'ergrown." 

We pause in admiration before the matchless structure; 
more than two thousand years have passed over this 
building, and we do not seem, with all our skill and 
science, to be able to build another like it. 

The walls of the Pantheon are twenty feet thick, con- 
structed of solid concrete. Originally, they were faced with 
marble, but this has been torn off and used to beautify 
churches in the city, leaving them, as you now see, grim 
and rough, and pierced with holes, into which were in- 
serted the bronze clamps that fastened the marble slabs. 

Wandering over its ample pavement, it is pleasant for 
us to look up at the circular opening in the dome, twenty- 
eight feet in diameter, by which the edifice is lighted, and 
see the summer clouds float across it; and when they 



TOMBS OF THE GREAT. 159 

have glided on, to behold the entire circle of sunny blue, 
and the great slanting beams of sunshine, visible all the 
way down to the floor. 

The Pantheon contains the busts, and, in some in- 
stances the bodies, of many of the celebrated men of 
Italy. Raphael, who had greatly admired this building, 
is buried here, and inscribed on his tomb is this epigram 
by Cardinal Bembo: 

" Living, great Nature feared he might outvie 
Her works; and, dying, fears herself to die." 

Here are also buried Victor Emmanuel and the late 
King Humbert. 

" Sanctuary and home 
Of art and piety — Pantheon! pride of Rome." 

" Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon was opened in 1833, and the 
bones of the immortal painter were discovered behind the altar 
of the chapel in which they were deposited." — Arnold's " Pas- 
sages in a Wandering Life." 

When King Humbert was buried here, a grander pag- 
eant for a funeral had not been seen in Rome for many 
centuries. The representatives of a hundred Italian cit- 
ies, bearing countless banners on which were blazoned 
coats of arms; ecclesiastics in the rich and impressive 
regalia; and many thousands of soldiers in their bril- 
liant uniforms, all united to render honor to the dead, and 
to impress the world with the great truth, that has been 
so often taught here before, that 

" The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 



l6o ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Await alike the inevitable hour; 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

Before leaving this place let me call your attention to 
the fact that this square in front of the Pantheon is called 
the Piazza della Rotunda. That small obelisk, surmount- 
ed by a cross, with the sculptured base and fountain, 
which you see in the centre of the square, is of Egyptian 
granite nearly twenty feet high, and is of the time of 
Psammeticus I in the seventh century, B. C. It former- 
ly stood in the Piazzetta in front of S. Macuto, close to 
the Church of S. Ignazio, one street to our left, where it 
had been placed by Paul V. It was removed to this 
spot by Clement XL 

You observe that this fountain is surrounded by a 
railing, something contrary to the usual custom in Rome. 
The purpose of it is not so much to keep the public be- 
yond the reach of its water as to prevent the numerous 
vehicles that frequent the square from doing it damage. 

Not even a casual visitor in Rome can leave the city 
after his brief stay, without having become acquainted 
with the fact that, apart from churches, the distinctive 
feature of modern Rome is its fountains. Upon them 
have often been lavished the purest and tenderest ele- 
ments of Italian art. Go where you will in the Eternal 
City, you are never out of the sound of falling water, and 
never at a loss where to slake your thirst in the hot and 
sultry noontime. 

While we are gazing at that fountain it will be interesting for 
us to note that a short distance on our left in a northeasterly 



FOUNTAIN OF TREVI. l6l 

direction, is the famous fountain of Trevi erected by Clement 
XII in 1735, with blocks of marble that originally formed the 
facing of the tomb of Caecilia Metelia, which we shall see later 
on. Associated with that fountain is the old legend that, if 
you visit it in the full of the moon the last night of your stay 
in Rome and drop a coin into its capacious basin and drink 
of its waters, you will return again, no matter how far distant 
>our feet may stray. 

Seated together at our last dinner, some one of our company 
of four recalled this ancient saying, and as, to our delight, the 
moon happened to be at the full, we determined to try the ex- 
periment, for we had spent many days in the grand old city and 
would be glad to see it again. So we set out, arm in arm, four 
abreast where the streets and absence of crowds permitted, and 
two abreast where they did not; and long before we reached the 
fountain its rhythmical cadences were falling on our ears. Ranged 
about the broad brim of the basin, the silvery light of the moon 
pouring down upon us and flooding everything with a dreamful 
radiance, we thrust our hands into our pockets and each took 
out a small coin and dropped it into the foaming water; then, 
stooping down, we took a long, deep draught of the pure cold 
water and turned away, wondering what the long years would 
bring us, and whether, ever again, we would stand beside the 
fountain and drink of its bright and laughing waters. 

We pass on, now, more than a third of a mile beyond 
those houses to the left of the Pantheon, to the great 
centre of Roman life, the Capitoline Hill and the Forum. 
That section, which we are about to visit, was by far the 
most important part of the city all the way down through 
the centuries of the Kings, the Republic and the Empire. 
Since the fall of the Empire it has been one of the most 
deserted sections of Rome. We are to go first to the 



l6a ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Capitoline, the hill of the Kings and the Republic, after j 
wards we shall see the Palatine, the hill of the Empire. 

On the general map of Rome we find our next posi- 
tion given a few inches below and to the right of the 
Pantheon, by the number 24 in a circle and the two red 
lines which start at the end of the street, Via di Aracoeli, 
at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, on the northwestern 
side, and extend toward the southeast. It is evident that 
when standing in that place the Island of the Tiber will 
be less than one-third of a mile from us on our right. 

That position before the Capitoline Hill is given in 
much more detail on the special map of the Roman 
Forum (Map No. 5), which we shall now need to use 
constantly for some time. In the extreme upper left- 
hand corner of this Forum map we find the Piazza Ara- 
coeli. To the right, above a flight of steps, is the Piazza 
del Campidoglio — the square that occupies the very cen- 
tre of the Capitoline summit. Above this square on the 
map is the Museo Capitolino (Capitoline Museum), and 
below it the Palazzo or Palace of the Conservators, while 
to the right is the Palace of the Senators, the Capitol 
building itself. We are to stand, as the red lines show, 
a little farther to the left in the Piazza Aracoeli, and look 
toward the right. 

24. Palace of the Senator and Capitol Tower- 
Site of the Tabnlarium. 

There is the Palace of the Senator or the Capitol, be- 
yond those stairs, with the tower rising above it. When 



THE CAPlTOLlNE HILL. 1 63 

on the Janiculum Hill ( Stereograph No. 3) we saw this 
tower, but we were not able to distinguish its clock or 
the flag above it. On our left, above the shrubbery, we 
catch sight of the Capitoline Museum; and on the right, 
a small section of the Palace of the Conservators. Ah ! 
This is Rome indeed! It seems as though we must 
have felt that this was Rome if we had never seen a single 
object or building here before. But in what place ought 
we to get a greater multitude of suggestions of the Ro- 
man spirit? This slight elevation has the greatest past 
of all the Seven Hills of the Eternal City. And then it is 
in the midst of world-famed places. Let us think of our 
surroundings here, for we are in the very heart of Rome. 
We are looking toward the southeast. Directly off to 
our right, as we noticed on the general map, is the Tiber 
with its island. Back of us is the Pantheon, with the 
whole field of the Campus Martius, and further back is 
the Castle of St. Angelo, St. Peter's and the Vatican. 
To our left, half a mile away, is the Royal Palace of the 
King, but just beyond this Capitol building is the Roman 
Forum, and only half a mile away in that direction is the 
Colosseum. Beyond the Capitol, to the right, is the 
Palatine Hill, and still farther to the right is the great 
Circus Maximus and the Aventine. And yet, with so 
much of importance all about it, this small hill upon 
which we are gazing has been able to attract and hold the 
interest of the world for many centuries. Only a small 
part of the structures that we see here has come down to 
us from ancient times. This place had a very different 



164 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

appearance when it was the scene of many of Rome's 
earliest glories. 

The Capitoline Hill has always consisted of three dis- 
tinct parts, two summits with a depression in the centre. 
The depression (98 ft.) is the part just before us. The 
eminence situated off to our left, to the north, is known as 
the Aracoeli (164 ft.), and to our right or south, is the 
site of the Caffarelli Palace (156 ft.). 

After establishing himself upon the Palatine Hill, it is said, 
you remember, that Romulus founded an asylum on this hill 
for fugitives of all kinds. Later the Sabines came and 
attacked the fortress thus set up. A girl, Tarpeia, was attracted 
by the ornaments worn by the soldiers, and in return for a 
promise of what they wore on their arms she opened the 
gates. The story is that she was crushed by the shields, also 
worn on the soldiers' arms. The hill now became known as 
the Mons Tarpeius, and remained in control of the Sabines 
for some time until the death of their King, Tatius, when 
Romulus again extended his government over it. The last 
of the Kings, Tarquinius Superbus, built the great temple of 
Jupiter on the southern eminence off to our right. Some tell 
the story that while they were digging the foundations the 
head of a man was found which one of the Etruscan augurs 
said meant that Rome was to become the head of Italy. The 
people accepted this interpretation and at once changed the 
name of the hill to Capitolinus (caput, head), a name which 
it has held ever since. The temple was dedicated in 509 B. C, 
the first year of the Republic, and was really three temples in 
one, the shrine of Jupiter being in the centre, with one for Juno 
on one side and for Minerva on the other. This was the most 
sacred of all the shrines of ancient Rome. It was burned down 
during the Civil War in 83 B. C, and again during the struggle 
between the Emperors Vespasian and Vitellius. It was rebuilt by 



THE TABULARIUM. 165 

Vespasian, only to be destroyed again in 80. Domitian was re- 
sponsible for a magnificent reconstruction, which remained until 
it was plundered by the Vandals in 455 A. D. 

The Temple of Jupiter was the most important struct- 
ure to be found here in ancient times. But another build- 
ing of great importance, the Tabularium, stood during the 
last years of the Republic where the Capitol building be- 
fore us now stands. In fact, this present Capitol rests on 
the old walls of the Tabularium. These vast walls, con- 
sisting of gigantic blocks of peperino, reveal to us the 
grandeur of the later Republic. The Tabularium was 
built to contain the public records which were engraved 
upon brass tablets before being deposited here for safe 
keeping. Prior to this they had been kept in the various 
temples where money and jewelry were often deposited. 
It seems that in addition to the use of the temples for 
religious rites they were also employed in a sort of utili- 
tarian way for the safe deposit companies of Rome. The 
remains of the Tabularium have been used also as a 
prison, and, more recently, as a salt-cellar, salt at one time 
being a government monopoly, and the great masses of 
this commodity stored here have eaten into the stones in a 
most curious manner. 

The northern summit of the Capitoline, situated to our 
left, was known more specifically as the Arx, probably 
for the reason that it was the most strongly fortified. 
There was the Temple to Juno Moneta. 

During the time of the Tribunes it was made famous, you 
remember, by an attempt of the barbarians to capture the city. 



1 66 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

The Gauls crept up to the top of the hill where a flock of geese, 
sacred to Juno, was kept. The geese commenced a vehement 
cackling which aroused Marcus Manlius, who resided near by. 
He, becoming alarmed at the sound, ran to the spot and 
pushed over the edge of the hill the first Gaul he met, and 
the others who were climbing up behind, all fell in a heap at 
the bottom. A goose was ever after carried in triumph by 
the Romans in commemoration of the event. 

The one thing that distinguished this hill from the early 
days of Rome until far into the Empire was its sacredness 
to the gods. Nothing in honor of men could be raised 
upon it. It is very difficult for us to realize with what 
reverence the Romans turned their thoughts to this 
place. The first person who dared to trespass on these 
sacred precincts with a personal memorial was Nero, who 
erected an arch in his own honor, of which, however, 
there is now no trace. 

After the fall of the Empire in 476, most of the hill was 
practically deserted. The monastery of S. Maria de Cap- 
itolio secured possession for several centuries and finally 
built the church which now stands on the northern sum- 
mit, and which has been known as the Church of S. 
Maria in Aracoeli since the fourteenth century. 

But too many glorious memories were associated with 
the hill to permit it to remain deserted. As soon as the 
city began to reassert itself again and to recall its former 
greatness and developed a spirit of municipal inde- 
pendence, a new palace — Novum Palatium — was con- 
structed. The first mention we have of the building was 
in 1 1 50; several restorations followed in the fourteenth 



APPROACH TO THE CAPITOL. 1 67 

century, and it is this restored building which we now see 
before us, although the front or fagade was built in 1592 
from slightly altered designs of Michelangelo. Thus 
after untold vicissitudes, at this late hour of time, this hill 
is still, in fact as well as name, the Capitol. 

In olden times the only approaches to the Capitoline 
were from the opposite or eastern side. This marble as- 
cent which rises before us, a grand monumental entrance 
to the Palace of the Senator, was constructed under the 
direction of Michelangelo and is now the main ascent 
for pedestrians. The steps to the extreme left, seen over 
the neck of that cab horse, is the approach to the Church 
of S. Maria in Aracoeli, which we have already referred to 
as standing beyond the limit of our vision in that direc- 
tion. On the right of the main staircase is the Via delle 
Tre Pile which now forms a driveway leading to the 
Capitol. In constructing this driveway in 1871 some re- 
mains of the ancient Servian wall were uncovered. 

Notice these two Egyptian lionesses on the balustrades 
at the bottom of the steps. Just at the feet of that lion to 
the left Rienzi, the Tribune, fell. There is a bronze 
statue of Rienzi, though we cannot see it from here, in 
that garden behind the lion, and in the garden there is also 
a cage containing two live wolves, kept in commemora- 
tion of the legendary nurse of Romulus and Remus. 

The structure beyond this arbor on the left is, as we 
have already said, the Capitoline Museum, built in 1644. 
It is in a room in that building you remember that Haw- 



1 68 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

thorne placed the opening scene in his romance of the 
" Marble Faun," 

Besides this famous " Faun " of Praxiteles and the Venus 
of the Capitol, the Museum contains the equally famous 
*' Dying Gaul," reproduced so often in pictures. For years 
it was called " The Dying Gladiator/' though it is no gladiator 
at all who sinks in the throes of agony upon the shield, but 
rather one of the rude, yet lion-hearted warriors belonging to 
that vast horde of barbarians who swept down upon Rome, 
breaking her power into fragments. The collar or strip about 
the man's neck is not a mark of gladiatorial humiliation, as 
was formerly thought, but the torques, a symbol of distinction 
in battle given for conspicuous bravery, as is the Victorian 
cross among English soldiers. The work is of Greek origin 
and dates perhaps as early as the third century B. C. Mrs. 
Oliphant's exclamation when she looked at the statue, " Why 
doesn't he die!" speaks out its vivid portrayal of the man's 
agony. 

The Palace of the Conservators, a small section of 
which is seen to the right of the central stairway, was 
first erected in 1450 and later rebuilt after plans of 
Michelangelo in 1564-68. It contains, besides the Pic- 
ture Gallery of the Capitol, a number of antique marbles 
and bronzes, the fruit of recent excavations. At the top 
of the ascent we see the two colossal statues of the Dios- 
curi, Castor and Pollux, which were found in the Ghetto, 
and were made to commemorate the Roman victory at 
Lake Regillus. They belonged originally to the decora- 
tions of some monumental entrance. Pope Sixtus V. 
placed them on the terrace of the Capitol. 

Do you see that woman whose back is toward us and 



FAMOUS EQUESTRIAN STATUE. 1 69 

who is just a little beyond the base of the left hand statue 
— that of Pollux? Now, use your eyes to good advan- 
tage and you will observe just in front of her and to the 
right, a round stone post. That is an ancient milestone 
and marked the seventh mile on the Appian Way. A 
similar stone is seen to the right, and beyond the base of 
the statue of Castor and also back of a woman, one of a 
party of tourists. That stone is said to have marked the 
first mile of the Appian Way, but this is uncertain, for it 
was not found in its original position. 

Beyond the middle of the top of the staircase and the 
main entrance to the Palace of the Senator is seen the 
equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the only equestrian 
statue that has been preserved to us since the days of 
Imperial Rome. In a moment or two we shall go near 
enough to examine it minutely. 

Before we go, however, we must take time to observe 
the striking contrast between most of the people in the 
group before us, in their poverty and ignorance, and the 
architectural splendor by which they are surrounded, sug- 
gesting the words of the late Premier Crispi, one of her 
own great statesmen, " Italy is made, but it yet remains to 
make the Italians." Take a look at that ragged Roman 
urchin talking to the little girl ; judging from that speci- 
men, boys' clothes ravel out at the knees the world over. 
The lad directly in front of us stands munching an apple, 
and back of him is a lone tourist, an invalid evidently, 
with a patient air and a long ulster, though it is spring- 
time, buttoned close up under his chin. Notice that 



I7P ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

peddler sitting on the first step beneath the right-hand 
lioness, his entire worldly possessions contained in the two 
baskets placed beside him, his hands clasped over his left 
knee and an old pipe stuck in his mouth. For down- 
right contentment and entire comfort, where in Rome 
will you find his superior ? 

Some of this company are beggars. Indeed, who in 
Rome does not beg? And these broad, snowy steps are 
the favorite rendezvous for the whole fraternity. Some 
of these Roman beggars have been known to have ac- 
cumulated quite a snug fortune. The story is told of an 
Italian nobleman who discharged his servant on account 
of repeated faults, but regretted it afterwards out of sym- 
pathy for the fellow's large family. Coming down these 
very steps, some time later, the nobleman was accosted 
by a miserable-looking beggar whose voice sounded fa- 
miliar. Scrutinizing the man's face, the nobleman recog- 
nized his former servant and in pity for his forlorn appear- 
ance, offered to reinstate him in his former position, on 
condition that he would mend his ways. 

" Many thanks to your excellency," the fellow replied, 
" but I really can't afford it." 

" Can't afford it? " exclaimed his lordship. " What do 
you mean by that ? " 

" Whv, you see," came the response, " I make twice the 
money begging." 

If you give them a large gratuity they thank you for it 
most profusely, and if but a small one, they say with a 



AN IMPRESSIVE PIAZZA. 171 

patient, patronizing air, " Thank you, signore, God will 
reward even you ! " 

Our next position is beyond the head of this main stair- 
way not far from that right-hand milestone. From that 
point we shall look toward the left or toward the north- 
east. Notice that white block of marble set in the Cap- 
itol, directly beneath the tower. From our new stand- 
point that will mark the limit of our vision on the right. 
On the map of the Roman Forum that position is given 
by the number 25 and the two red lines that branch from 
it in the Piazza del Campidoglio. 

25. The renowned statue of Marcus Aurelius, 
preserved to us from Imperial times; and 
the Capitol. 

What a wealth of architectural splendor is here spread 
out before us ! Surely such a scene is worthy of the 
glorious memories that cluster so thickly about this his- 
toric spot. In the background is the Palace of the Sen- 
ator, whose imposing faqade was constructed by Rainaldi 
in 1592, after the designs of Michelangelo. As you see, 
the approach to the palace is by a double flight of spacious 
stairs. Notice at the extreme right of this structure the 
square slab of marble above the central entrance which 
we caught sight of from our former position, which 
shows us that we are gazing upon a little more than half 
of the palace front. Before the steps and facing the 



172 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

piazza is a splendid fountain constructed by Sixtus V. 
It contains colossal figures of the Nile and the Tiber. 
They stood during the Middle Ages on the Quirinal and 
they appear to be the work of the early years of the Em- 
pire. The niche between the two river deities is filled 
with a statue of Pollux, wrongly regarded at times as Dea 
Roma. The Hall of the Palace of the Senator contains 
busts of Count Cavour, Garibaldi and others. In the 
upper rooms are the offices of the municipality, the local 
police courts, and above all is the observatory of the 
Capitol which is attached to the Chair of Astronomy at the 
University. The building is crowned, you observe, by a 
marble balustrade surmounted by statues of Italian celeb- 
rities. To the left in our field of vision is seen one cor- 
ner of the Capitoline Museum or Gallery of Sculpture. 
The beauty and massiveness of the structure may well be 
inferred from the small portion we see. The soldier 
standing in the portico gives us an excellent idea of the 
substantial proportions of the building, which, with the 
Palace of the Senator before us and the Palace of the 
Conservators behind us, forms a square whose splendor is 
unsurpassed in the whole world. 

But after all, the chief attraction of this magnificent 
court is the famed equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, 
the one equestrian statue that takes us back to the days of 
Imperial Rome. There is great uncertainty as to the spot 
on which it originally stood. In the middle ages it 
formed part of the collection of bronzes in the Campus 
by the Lateran, together with other famous objects now 



RETURN OF THE GOLDEN DAYS. 1 73 

in the Palace of the Conservators. It was removed to its 
present position by Paul III in 1538. The preservation 
of the statue was due to the mistaken notion that it was a 
statue of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor. In 
those fanatical and iconoclastic days had they thought it 
to be the statue of a pagan emperor, it would have most 
surely been destroyed. 

In the stormy times of Cola di Rienzi, we hear of this 
statue figuring in a festival given in honor of Rome's lat- 
est tribune. On this occasion it was said that wine was 
made to flow from the nostrils of the horse. This statue 
must have looked resplendent when gilded. This has 
disappeared save some traces that still linger in the curly 
hair of the emperor and about the mane of the horse. It 
is a common saying among the Italians that the golden 
days of Marcus Aurelius, when the condition of the peo- 
ple was probably more prosperous than at any other time 
in their history, will never return until this statue is re- 
gilded. Hawthorne calls it " The most majestic repre- 
sensation of the kingly character that the world has ever 
seen." 

As we have said, on the opposite side of this Palace of 
the Senator or Capitol Building lies the Roman Forum. 
Before we pass through this building to look down upon 
that historic spot, let us take a general survey of the 
Forum map. It would be well, first of all, though, to 
glance at the general map of Rome where the boundaries 
of this special map are marked out, and note that the 
territory it covers extends from the Capitoline Hill about 



174 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

two-thirds of the way to the Colosseum in a southeasterly 
direction. Now turning to the Forum map we should 
observe that the sections covered with broken parallel 
lines, and having a mottled appearance, especially in the 
left-hand and upper portion of the map, show the terri- 
tory now occupied by modern blocks and buildings. The 
finely dotted sections of the map show the location of 
modern streets and squares. The outlines of some of the 
ancient buildings and roads are traced over these modern 
blocks and streets, as for example, the Temple of Jupiter 
(Templum Jovis), to the left on the map, and the Capi- 
toline road (Clivus Capitolinus), which wound up to the 
temple from the Foruin. But what we are most inter- 
ested in is the section covered with many black lines and 
dots, heavy and light, which begins at the Palace of the 
Senator, above and to the left of the map centre, and ex- 
tends off toward the map limit on the right. That repre- 
sents the territory where lies the Roman Forum proper 
and the course of the Sacra Via, territory that has been 
covered with important and beautiful buildings again and 
again in the long past. It is in this section that extensive 
excavations have been going on for many years. The 
more or less irregular black lines and dots scattered over 
it represent the fragmentary remains of the old structures. 
To one who has not made some study of the Forum all 
seems to be confusion at first, but with a little patience 
and careful attention we shall be able to gain a very clear 
idea of the main buildings whose ruins still remain. The 
Roman Forum proper is found in a small area near the 



THE FORUM. 1 75 

centre of the map, extending roughly, we may say, from 
the temples of Concord and Vespasian to the Templum 
Divi Julii, or Temple of Julius Caesar. All ruins to the 
right of the Temple of Julius Caesar are of buildings 
standing outside of the area of the Forum itself, but bor- 
dering along the Sacra Via or on the slopes of the Pala- 
tine. Very often in modern times, however, the name of 
Roman Forum has been popularly applied to the whole 
area from the Capitol to the Colosseum. 

But we are ready to look for our first position in the 
Forum. The heavy black lines just to the right of the 
Piazza del Campidoglio, in which we have been standing, 
show the ruins of the ancient Tabularium which now ex- 
ist beneath, serving as a foundation wall for, the Palace 
of the Senator or Capitol. This modern Capitol building 
covers the entire space occupied by these ruins. Our 
next position is given by the two red lines which start 
from the lower or southern part of this area and extend 
to the upper and right-hand map margins, each line hav- 
ing the number 26 at its end. 

26. Temple of Vespasian, Arch of Septimius 
Severus—East from the Capitol. 

Here, at our feet, is the Forum, one of the most illus- 
trious spots on the whole earth. Contemplating this 
scene our mind is taken out of the twentieth century with 
its ceaseless roar and mighty energy, and is carried back 



176 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

to the remote period when there were but few industr 
and no recorded time. 

Among the experiences of mv life to which I look back 
with peculiar pleasure, as having been characterized by 
more than ordinary fullness of satisfaction and emotion, 
are those associated with my first view of this Roman 
Forum. I understood that one's first visit to this memo- 
rable place was apt to be disappointing, since, as we are 
aware, there could be nothing seen here but " fragments 
and rubbish." But all naturalists declare that we can 
obtain a pretty good idea of many an animal merely from 
its skeleton, and viewed in the light of this principle, these 
fragments may become more beautiful than rubies and 
more precious than the gold of Ophir. In fact, every- 
thing that one encounters in the long line of the Forum 
is, when rightly understood, either interesting or beauti- 
ful. For centuries these arches and columns lay buried 
under vines, weeds and vegetable gardens. These ruins, 
however, have been disinterred and restored, as much as 
possible, to their original position. 

Any person at all acquainted with the world's history 
must look with peculiar interest at the Forum, even 
though he does not know one group of ruins from an- 
other. But if we are to know anything of its full power 
to attract us, we must become familiar with the signifi- 
cance of the various broken walls and columns remaining, 
which served the purposes of the men who lived here so 
long ago ; for as these take their proper architectural and 



THE OLD FORUM. 1 77 

historical setting, the fascination of the place will be in- 
creased for us many times over, in all the years to come. 

Let us begin now by trying to get a definite conception 
of our present location, and a general idea of what is di- 
rectly before us. Then we shall pass on to take two other 
positions, temporarily, for the purpose of gaining a more 
comprehensive knowledge of the whole Forum and its 
surroundings; afterward we can return and study each 
section in particular and with greater satisfaction. We 
are looking through a window, we should remember, in 
the southern part of the Capitol, and are facing about 
east. Down below us is the very centre of the Forum. 
The three columns nearest to us on the left belong to the 
Temple of Vespasian; the noble arch seen back of them 
is that of Septimius Severus, while close to us, on the 
right, we see two of the eight remaining columns of the 
Temple of Saturn. Beyond these ruins stretches the ter- 
ritory covered by the old Forum or market-place, the 
Comitium, which was the earliest meeting place, and the 
Curia or Senate House, the most important political 
building in Rome. Bear in mind that the Forum lies 
nearest us. In a general way it began on this western end 
at the Arch of Severus and extended toward the right or 
east about three hundred and twenty-five feet, that is, to 
the point seen over the columns of the Temple of Saturn. 
Before the death of Caesar and the erection of his temple, 
the Forum extended over one hundred feet farther to the 
right. The southern Forum limit was nearly in line with 
the front of this Temple of Saturn, while the northern 



178 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

limit was practically on a line with the nearer or southern 
side of the Arch of Severus, and, the street running 
through the Arch, which was built in the beginning of 
the third century after Christ, skirted this northern 
boundary. The Forum's width thus varied from- about 
one hundred and fifty feet at this end to one hundred and 
twenty- five feet at the other. It is generally believed that 
its original pavement lay several feet below that which we 
now see, and which dates probably from the Imperial 
period. Later on we shall see the ancient pavement. 
The church seen over the Arch of Severus, the Church of 
S. Adriano, occupies the site, as our map shows, of the 
ancient Curia or Senate House. The Comitium was an 
open space between the northern boundary of the Forum 
and the Curia. 

In the distance we are looking, as the general map of 
Rome shows, over the Esquiline Hill. Off to the right 
above a nearer church, we see the arches of the Basilica 
of Constantine, and to the extreme right beyond, the 
northern side of the Colosseum. 

Now retaining our position in this window, we shall 
turn around toward the right, and look over the whole 
area between us and the Colosseum. The columns of the 
Temple of Saturn, now down on our extreme right, will 
be then somewhat to our left. 

This new field of vision is shown exactly on the Forum 
map. Find the two lines which start from the Capitol 
and extend, one to the right-hand map margin and one 



SOUTHEAST FROM THE CAPITOL. 1 79 

to the lower map margin, each with the number 27 at its 
end. The space included by them, and which we are to 
see, as you will notice, is by far the largest part of the 
ruin-covered area. 



27. The Roman Forum, southeast from the 
Capitol. 

What a scene is this ! The whole earth holds no pros- 
pect more wonderful. Its endless associations over- 
whelm and confuse both the memory and the imagina- 
tion. Standing here, the world's greatest scholars have 
gazed and wondered. Speaking of our visit, one traveller 
says: "The whole scene trembled, for an instant, in my 
vision, for I knew that one of the greatest desires of my 
life was on the point of fulfillment, and that I was at last 
actually gazing on the spot of earth which had been for 
centuries the brain of the Roman Empire, the focus of the 
power and intelligence of the human race, and, frequently, 
the stage on which the most stupendous dramas in 
Rome's history were performed, with consuls, emperors 
and generals as the actors, and for an audience the daz- 
zled world." 

We are looking east by south now. Those five col- 
umns of the Temple of Saturn, seen before on our right, 
now stand up majestically a little to our left. On our ex- 
treme left are the arches of the Constantine Basilica, and 
farther away, more to the right, is the Colosseum. There 
is a large church directly in front of it, but the mammoth 



l8o ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

proportions of the great amphitheatre swell out grandly 
on both sides. To the right of the Colosseum, standing 
on higher ground, is the Arch of Titus, while the emi- 
nence on the extreme right, piled with ruins nearly to its 
summit, is the home of the Caesars, the Palatine Hill. All 
this territory has been crowded with buildings and then 
destroyed by fire or pillage and then crowded again time 
after time, during the Republic and the Empire. But the 
nucleus from which it all started, the original Forum, 
lies down there on our left. We called attention before 
to the Forum limits on three sides; now we can see the 
limits on the southwesterly side. The large space below 
on our right with its regular rows of bases for columns, 
is the foundation of the Basilica Julia. We can see the 
front steps of this Basilica around the column of the 
Temple of Saturn farthest away. It was that Basilica, 
together with the Temple of Castor and Pollux to the 
east of it, which formed the boundary on this side of the 
Forum. 

Before we consider more in detail the whole area spread 
out here before us we shall go for a few minutes only to 
one more standpoint, the location of which is just this 
side, and to the right of the Arch of Titus. From there 
we shall look back this way to the Capitol building in 
which we are standing. On the map of the Forum that 
standpoint is found in front of the Basilica of Constantine. 
The two bounding red lines connected with the number 



THE ROMAN FORUM. l8l 

29 extend toward the left, on the map, or toward the 
west. 



zg. Forum and Capitol from near the 
Basilica of Constantine, showing an- 
cient pavement of the Sacra Via. 

There in the distance to the left, surmounted by a 
square tower, is the Capitol, from which we have been 
looking. Down in front of it are the columns of the 
Temple of Saturn, Vespasian and the Arch of Septimius 
Severus, all of which were just at our feet when we were 
looking in this direction. In fact, we were looking from 
one of those windows, seen over the column of the Saturn 
Temple, in the second row from the roof. Only the 
three upper stories belong to the later portion of the 
building ; all we see below are the remains of the ancient 
Tabularium. 

As we shall explain more fully later, there were in olden 
times three structures built practically against the Tabu- 
larium. The centre structure was the Temple of Ves- 
pasian, three of whose columns are still standing. To 
the right or north was the Temple of Concord, and to 
the left or south was the Portico of the Twelve Gods. 
The row of low columns belonging to this latter structure 
is seen in the shadow beneath the left or southern end of 
the Capitol. The outlines of those three buildings are 
clearly given on the map, the last one being called the 
Porticus Deorum Consentium. 



1 82 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Now we will return to our first position in the Capitol 
window, and, after stopping for a while to call up the 
past in outline, we will take up the ruins more fully. 

26. Temple of Vespasian. Arch of Septimius 
Severus — East from the Capitol. 

Men have met down in this small space for so many 
centuries, and so many groups of buildings have been 
erected here in succession, that it is wise for us to take 
this opportunity, first of all, to glance over the past brief- 
ly but completely, from the earliest times to the present 
day. We shall be able to get the history of the Forum 
in mind more clearly if we divide it according to the five 
great periods of which we have often spoken : the period 
of the Kings, the Republic, the Empire and the later 
periods of the Papacy and United Italy. 

In the very beginning of Rome the various tribes that set- 
tled on the different hills this side of the Tiber came to this 
low piece of ground below us for the purpose of trade. Only 
a few small huts, built similar to Indian wigwams, were ranged 
around the early market-place. The legend has it that Romu- 
lus, after fighting with the Sabines, because of his successful 
attempt to kidnap their women, came here to make peace and 
an alliance with the Sabine King Tatius. Though it was only 
a low grassy spot subject to overflow, it received the name 
of " Comitium from the verb coire, to assemble. The first 
Senate House was a hut with a thatched roof, standing out 
there beyond the Arch of Severus. Tullus Hostilius, the third 
king, built the first stone inclosure for the meeting of the 
Senators. This was the Curia Hostilia, named after its builder. 



TABERNAE — SHOPS. 1 83 

Ancus Martins founded the first state prison, the famous 
Tullianium of later times, in some quarries located just to the 
left of the Arch of Severus. The succeeding Kings, the Tar- 
quins, began the great Cloaca Maxima to drain the land, and 
gave more or less regular limits to the Forum, and sold the 
land around it for building lots. The shops and stores built 
thereon were intended to be lined with porticoes in front. No 
stately temples stood here in those days. The shops were of 
the most ordinary kind, butcher stalls, fish markets and the 
like. It was in one of these butcher shops, you will remember, 
that Virginius seized the knife to kill his daughter. Schools 
of the most primitive kinds were also located in these buildings. 

But as the importance of the place increased, the rude 
pioneer tradesmen were supplanted by those of a higher or- 
der, goldsmiths, silversmiths and money changers. It was 
because of this class that the name of " tabernae argentariae " 
came to be applied in a general way to all the shops, but par- 
ticularly to those standing on the north side facing toward 
us. There were special names applied to the rows of shops 
on both of the long sides of the Forum. Those on the south, 
or shady side, were called " tabernae veteres " or " septem 
tabernae/' and those on the north, or sunny side, were called 
" tabernae novae " or " argentariae." In a general way this was 
the aspect here in the time of the Kings, 

During the period of the Republic (509-31 B. C, 478 years) 
great changes took place. We shall be able to speak of only 
a few of these remarkable building operations by which this 
place was transformed into a place of great architectural beauty 
as in the days of Augustus. Some of the earliest structures 
erected here during that period were the Temple of Saturn (in 
497 B. C), the Temple of Concord (in 367 B. G), and the Rostra 
(between 449 and 438 B. C). We can easily understand how a 
Forum that was adequate in the time of the Kings would become, 
in the great extension of the Republic, entirely too small. What 
space there was, moreover, had been obstructed by a great many 



I84 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

statues, tribunes and altars. This led Scipio and M. Popilius, 
censors, to give an order in 159 B. C, for the removal of 
all statues of magistrates, unless the senate had decreed 
their erection. After this order was carried into effect, we are 
told there were still scores of statues left. Other hindrances 
to business were the crowds of unemployed, such as the cheap 
lawyers watching for victims. 

Beginning with 184 B. C. the old shops began to give way 
to the more pretentious buildings, basilicas or courthouses. 
The first was built in this year by M. Porcius Cato, the elder, 
('own there on the north side of the Forum and to the left of 
the Curia, beyond the range of our vision. It was called the 
Basilica Porcia. Then came the Basilica Fulvia or Fulvia 
Aemilia, built by M. Fulvius Nobilior, on the north side of the 
Forum, east of the Curia, where we see the modern street 
and square above the embankment. The Basilica Sempronia 
was erected in 169 B. C. on the site of some of the shops 
standing on the south side of the Forum. All these buildings 
had spacious porticoes, which were always open. But even 
after these finer structures were put up, the dealers continued 
to sell fish and meat within the porticoes. A reform was be- 
gun in the second century by the construction of fish markets 
north of the Curia, where this business was henceforth car- 
ried on by itself. In 54 B. C. the greatest era of transfor- 
mation began. L. Aemilius Paullus bought up land on that 
north side of the Forum and built on this new property and 
on the site of the old Basilica Fulvia Aemilia, his magnificent 
Basilica Aemilia Paulli, at a cost of over $2,000,000. This was 
done, Cicero says, to enlarge the Forum. The work of en- 
largement was "continued by Julius Caesar in 54-46 B. C. He 
bought more private property lying beyond the Curia, mostly 
beyond the limit of our vision on the left, and built his Forum 
Julium at a cost of $4,000,000. 

But while the Basilica Aemilia Paulli and the Forum Julium 
were being built on the north of the old Forum, important 



CHANGES WDER THE EMPIRE. 1 85 

changes had taken place on the other side of this area. In 
52 B. C. the Curia Hostilia and the Basilica Porcia to the left 
of it and several houses were burned by the Clodians. The 
Temple of Felicitas was started on the site of the old Curia in 
44 B. C, and then Julius Caesar secured the privilege of con- 
structing another Senate House on the same site. This was 
called the Curia Julia. It was not dedicated until after the 
beginning of the Empire in 29 B. C. by Augustus. In 46 B. C, 
Julius Caesar dedicated the first Basilica Julia on the southern 
side of the Forum, the site of which we have already seen. 
This brings us to the end of the Republic. 

Now we will consider in a general way the great changes that 
took place here during the Empire 31 B. C. to 476 A. D. Under 
Augustus the first Emperor, the work of enlarging the Forum 
was continued. Augustus bought more private land to the north 
of the Curia, just to the left of our vision limit, adjoining 
the Forum Julium on the northeast, and built the third Forum, 
Forum Augustum, or Forum Martis, from the Temple of 
Mars, which it contained. In 29 B. C. Augustus dedicated the 
Temple of Julius Caesar in the east end of the Forum (Templum 
Divi Julii, on the map), and in the same year a triumphal arch 
was erected to Augustus just south of the temple (Arcus Augusti, 
on the map). 

In the first three centuries of the Imperial period four great fires 
devastated nearly the whole region from the Capitol to the Colos- 
seum, and these four fires were followed by three great restora- 
tions. The first fire, under Nero, in 65 A. D., burned much of 
the territory from the Forum to the place where the Colosseum 
now stands. Then came the second fire under Titus in 80 A. D. 

Vespasian, Titus and Domitian took up the work of repair. 
They constructed two new Forums, the Forum Transitorium 
and the Forum of Peace, which extended from the Forum of 
Julius Caesar and Augustus, over the territory in front of us 
beyond the site of the Curia, nearly to the place where we now 
see the ruins of Constantine's Basilica. Vespasian began the 



l86 ROME THROUGH THE. STEREOSCOPE. 

construction of the Colosseum, and his son, Titus, finished it 
in 80 A. D. While Titus was carrying on the work of his 
father, the second fire, already spoken of, stopped the work. 
His successor, Domitian, repaired most of the area swept by 
both fires. In 191 A. D., near the end of the reign of Corn- 
modus, the third fire burned over most of the ground between 
the Forum and the Colosseum. Septimius Severus and his 
son Caracalla, repaired the damages of this fire. The Arch 
down to our left was raised in their honor in 203 A. D. The 
fourth fire, in 283 A. D., under Carinus, devastated again most 
of the ground from the east end of the Forum to the Colos- 
seum. Diocletian, Constantine and Maxentius repaired nearly 
all the buildings destroyed at that time. 

From the time of Maxentius the history of the destruction of 
the Forum begins. The first incident in this history was the 
abolition of Pagan worship by Gratianus in 383 A. D. All the 
privileges of priests and temples were done away with and their 
revenues were confiscated. There was rebellion for a time, 
but in 394 A. D. the temples were closed for ever. For a 
time, however, the appearance of things remained about the 
same. The statues of the gods and the temples were pre- 
served as works of art At the beginning of the sixth century 
everything was well preserved. King Theodoric came here to 
address the people from the Rostra in 500 A. D. 

The transformation of the old buildings in this vicinity into 
Christian places of worship began in 526, when the Temple of 
the Sacred City or Record Office was dedicated as S. S. Cos- 
mas and Damianus, the church we still see just this side of the 
Constantine Basilica. Many other historic structures were 
utilized in the same way during the next few centuries. 

What changes took place here from the ninth to the four- 
teenth century nobody really knows. The early excavators, 
in seeking for the more ancient remains, paid little attention 
to the remains of these later times. 

Soil began to accumulate in the Forum, it is supposed, 



THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE FORUM. 1 87 

soon after the visit of Charlemagne in 800 A. D. After the 
fire and destruction by Robert Guiscard in 1084 A. D., the 
Forum disappeared from sight and almost from memory. Gar- 
dening was carried on all about here. It seems as though this 
place was used as a dumping ground for rubbish of all kinds. 
From the fourteenth century on, builders came here to get ma- 
terials for new structures. This work began on a large scale when 
Paul III decreed that free use should be made of whatever could 
be found for the building of St. Peter's. This despoiling of the 
Forum was prosecuted vigorously during the sixteenth century. 
There was little change then until the end of the eighteenth, 
when all devastation was stopped. Pius VII determined that all 
historical remains from the Capitol to the Colosseum should be 
unearthed and preserved. The Italian government took charge 
after coming into power in 1870, and a large part of the uncover- 
ing of the old areas has been done since that time. 

We are now to examine in detail the principal ruins in 
the Forum and its vicinity. We shall begin with those on 
the different sides of the Forum, and then take up those 
lying between the Forum and the Colosseum, on either 
side of the Sacra Via. 

First, we are to think of the Tabularium beneath us, 
built upon the Capitoline slope. This immense building, 
used for the safe keeping of all the public records from 
the earliest times, was probably erected by Q. Lutatius 
Catulus in 78 B. C. We can give it more attention when 
we see it from another position later. 

Now notice again, and look closely this time, at those 
three fluted Corinthian columns of the Temple of Ves- 
pasian with a fragment of entablature resting upon them. 
Each marble shaft is so graceful that we do not wonder 



1 88 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

that the beauty of the ruin has excited universal 
admiration. The original temple, of which these col- 
umns formed a part, was a magnificent structure, adorned 
with Greek paintings and sculpture, taken mostly from 
Nero's palace. It was built by Domitian about 94 A. D. 
in honor of his deified father. It stood upon a platform 
and the pillars rose in the air forty-nine feet, being also 
four and a half feet in diameter at the base. 

The story is told of the Emperor Gaius that one day he found a 
certain road near the Forum muddy. He at once removed his 
royal mantle and commanded that it be filled with road scrapings. 
Then he ordered the officer in charge of the road to be brought 
before him. The officer's name was Vespasian, and when years 
after he became the Emperor of the Roman Empire, this incident 
was recalled, and it was interpreted as a prophecy of his future 
greatness. 

This temple structure joined the wall of the Tabularium 
under us. And as we have pointed out before, two other 
structures were built close against the Tabularium, one 
on either side of this Temple of Vespasian. On the 
north, beyond the limit of our vision down to the left, 
was the Temple of Concord (Templum Concordiae, on 
the map). All that remains of this temple is a massive 
sub-structure upon which a rich pavement of colored mar- 
ble was found. The first temple on that spot was erected 
in B. C. 367 by M. Furius Camillus, the dictator, to com- 
memorate the termination of the long struggle between 
the patricians and the plebeians as to the election of con- 
suls. While the fight between the two factions was espe- 



ANCIENT PIPERS. 1 89 

cially violent in the Forum, Camillus promised to erect a 
temple to Concord if peace should be restored. When the 
alliance was agreed upon he fulfilled his promise. The 
Senate commissioned L. Opimius to reconstruct the tem- 
ple in B. C. 121, after Gaius Gracchus had been killed. 
The people were greatly disturbed that the temple which 
had originally been reared to commemorate a popular vic- 
tory should now be made use of to do honor to the tri- 
umph of the aristocracy, and so they changed the old in- 
scription one night making it read, " Discord raises this 
temple to Concord." Tiberius rebuilt the temple on a 
more magnificent scale in A. D. 10. Beside the pave- 
ment already alluded to, the fragments of cornices and 
capitals belonging to the structure and now preserved in 
the corridor of the Tabularium, prove that the building 
was splendidly adorned. It was evidently used as a 
place of assembly for public bodies, and the Senate often 
held its meetings there. It was down in this temple that 
Cicero delivered his fourth oration against Catiline before 
the Roman Senate. 

An anecdote belonging to the period of the founding of this 
temple, gives an insight into the character of those far distant 
times. Three hundred and more years before Christ it was the 
custom here in Rome to have pipers to pipe at the offering of the 
sacrifices. Generally these pipers were a jolly lot, who enjoyed 
eating and drinking far more than they did their functions at a 
religious ceremony. Being deprived by the censors of their cus- 
tomary feast in the Temple of Jupiter, they all went on a strike 
and departed in a body to Tibur. The next day, to the astonish- 
ment of the priests and people, there was nobody to pipe at the 



I90 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

sacrifices. The Senate was deeply agitated. The pipers under- 
stood the situation exactly, and had taken the bull by the horns. 
Their duty was a religious one, and in Rome religion was the in- 
dispensable factor in all the State's functions. The matter being 
of the gravest importance, ambassadors, as in august affairs of 
state, were sent to Tibur to demand of the inhabitants the return 
of the pipers. The people of Tibur could not induce the pipers to 
go back, and finally devised a piece of strategy that proved suc- 
cessful. Since the lack of something to eat and drink caused all 
the trouble, the right application of an abundance of it might mend 
the matter; and so they invited the pipers to a grand dinner 
on the pretense of needing their music to enliven the banquet. 
Once there they were feasted on rich viands, which they washed 
down with copius draughts of wine until all of them were drunk. 
After this they fell into a deep sleep, and in this state of drunken 
stupor they were all tumbled into carts and carried to Rome. 
Great was their astonishment and indignation when, upon awak- 
ening the next morning, they found themselves in the Eternal 
City; but they refused to pipe, sacrifice or no sacrifice, unless, in 
addition to their accustomed feast, they should be fantastically 
dressed at the expense of the State, and for three days each year 
be allowed to wander about the streets of the city playing their 
weird and doleful music and receiving the gifts of the people, a 
custom that prevailed until the days of the Empire, and even has 
its counterpart in modern Rome. 

The third building that stood close to the Tabularium 
was the Portico of the Twelve Gods, situated to our 
right and beneath us. On the map the outline of the 
structure is called the " Porticus Deorum Consentium. ,, 
We saw the portico of low Corinthian columns belonging 
to this structure from our position near the Arch of Titus 
(Stereograph No. 29). An early shrine was built on this 



CLIVUS CAPITOLINUS. 191 

spot to the twelve deities whose images, on the authority 
of Varro, stood in the Forum at a very remote age. The 
shrines were rebuilt in A. D. 367 by Vettius Agorius 
Praetexatus, one of the principal champions of the pagan- 
ism then dying out. Seven rooms under the platform 
supporting these shrines and nearest these columns of 
Vespasian's Temple, have been thought by some to be 
the Schola Xanthi, a meeting place of scribes and 
notaries. 

Just in front of the three buildings which stood close 
to the Tabularium there was a road, in ancient times, the 
Clivus Capitolinus. It was a name given to that part of 
the famous Sacra Via which ran in a zigzag course from 
the base to the summit of the Capitoline Hill. There is a 
difference of opinion as to its exact course. Some think 
that the Clivus Capitolinus started from the Arch of 
Severus, turned this way in front of these columns of 
Vespasian's temple, following the course practically of 
this modern road with its trolley line and pedestrians we 
now see, passed around the Portico of the Twelve Gods, 
and, after skirting the south side of the Tabularium, as- 
cended in another curve to the Temple of Jupiter. This 
course is traced out on our maps. Others believe that 
it began at the southwest corner of the Forum, the other 
side of the Saturn columns down on our right, and then 
curved around in front of these columns, toward the Arch 
of Severus, and then followed the course as outlined about 
the Portico of the Twelve Gods and beyond. 

All Roman conquerors climbed this road on their way 



192 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

to Jupiter's temple. Innumerable processions have 
moved majestically over it. 

Now we come to the structures that stood between this 
road and the Forum, the structures that bordered imme- 
diately on this west end of the Forum. Those of most 
importance are the Arch of Severus, the Rostra and the 
Temple of Saturn. 

The Arch of Severus, which stands beyond the col- 
umns of the Temple of Vespasian, was erected by the 
Roman Senate in honor of the emperor, Septimius Sev- 
erus, and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta. It was built 
upon a platform known as the Volkanal, or Area Con- 
cordiae, an open space in front of the Temple of Concord, 
raised six or seven feet above the level of the Forum and 
approached by means of steps. The Arch is adorned with 
bas-reliefs, illustrative of Severus' victories in the East. 
On the now unadorned summit of the arch there was 
formerly a chariot of victory, containing statues of Sev- 
erus and his sons, drawn by six horses abreast, four of 
which are said to have been the famous steeds now in 
front of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. It is the small- 
est of the three triumphal arches remaining in Rome. 
Its marble is broken and hollowed, but as we look upon 
it, the events it commemorates seem of yesterday. Sum- 
moned from here to crush the insurrection in the north, 
Severus was destined never to pass beneath his superb 
arch, for he died on English soil, near where the York 
Cathedral rears its graceful spire. After Caracalla had 
put his brother Geta to death in A. D. 212, he erased his 



ROSTRA VETERA. 1 93 

name from the inscription on the arch. In one of the 
piers is a staircase leading to the summit. 

Notice now that irregular row of stone blocks extend- 
ing from near the Arch toward the Temple of Saturn. At 
first they seem to be on a line with the Forum side of the 
Arch but more careful observation shows that they stand 
some distance beyond it. Those broken stones mark the 
front of what is said to have been the platform of the 
Rostra Vetera. On the map its position is given more 
definitely. We know within a few years when this plat- 
form was erected. There is a record showing that the 
Volkanal, the elevated space upon which the Arch of Sev- 
erus was built, was used as a speaking platform in B. C. 
449, the time of Appius Claudius, but eleven years later, 
B. C. 438, Livy speaks of this new tribune. Nearly 
twenty-four centuries ago the first orators in their long 
flowing togas were standing there haranguing eager 
listeners. It was in B. C. 338, you remember, that C. 
Maenius brought the beaks of war vessels captured at 
Antium to decorate the platform, from which decoration 
it took the name Rostra. 

We can see from these ruins and the map that the 
Rostra stood near the border line between the Forum and 
the Comitium. This enabled the orators to be heard 
both by the patricians who met in the Comitium, and the 
plebeians who could assemble only in the Forum. For 
centuries the speakers faced the patricians, but Gaius 
Gracchus or Licinius Crassus started the custom of facing 
the plebeians in the Forum. 



194 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

The more we look at that mass of crumbling marble, 
thinking of what Has taken place upon it, the more it 
enthralls us. There is the foundation of that platform 
from which flashed and thundered that masterful Roman 
eloquence which, even now, delights the cultured world. 
What struggles went on there for centuries during the 
Republic between the aristocracy and the democracy! 
There later Cicero delivered his third oration against 
Catiline, and his speech against Antony, which cost him 
his life. There Marius and Sulla exhibited the heads of 
their victims, and from this platform were displayed the 
heads and hands of Cicero. It was there that Fulvia, the 
widow of Clodius, came and spat in the dead orator's 
face and brutally thrust her bodkin through his speech- 
less tongue. 

There were two structures in close connection with the 
Rostra, which we ought to consider — the Milliarium and 
the Umbilicus Romae. Notice that irregular pile of 
stone down on our right in the shadow, near the Tem- 
ple of Saturn, and a few feet this way from the right end 
of the Rostra. Those stones marked the site of the 
Milliarium Aureum, or Golden Milestone, a gilt bronze 
column, on which were given the distances from 
the city gates to all the principal towns on the main 
roads which radiated from Rome. Augustus and 
Agrippa were engaged for years in measuring distances 
throughout the Empire, mensuratio to tins or bis they 
called it, and that milestone was erected by Augustus in 
29 B. C. as a record of the work. It was beside that 



TEMPLE OF SATURN. 1 95 

stone that Galba was murdered in A. D. 68 by his soldiers, 
who raised Otho to the throne in his stead. At the south- 
ern end of the Arch of Severus, just to the right of the 
right hand column of the Temple of Vespasian we can see 
a semicircular wall, which formed the base for the Um- 
bilicus Romae, the ideal centre of the city. All distances 
within the walls were measured from this and marked 
upon it. 

The third structure of importance in addition to the 
Arch of Severus and the Rostra on the west side of the 
Forum, is the Temple of Saturn, which we will speak of 
in our next position (Stereograph No. 2j) when all of its 
remaining eight columns can be seen. 

On the north side of the Forum was the open space 
of the Comitium, with the Curia or Senate House back 
of it, and the Temple of Janus and the Basilica Aemilia to 
the east. The Comitium lay down there behind the Arch 
of Severus, just north of the Rostra, and extended for 
about one-third of the length of the Forum from west to 
east. The Comitium was (we are always to remember) 
in the time of the Kings and the early Republic, the 
centre of the civil and political business, while the Forum 
was then merely a market-place ; but as the population in- 
creased and the plebeians secured more privileges, the 
centre of political life was changed to the Forum. As 
we have pointed out before, the Senate House stood on 
the site of the Church of S. Adriano, which we see over 
the Arch. The Temple of Janus stood just east of the 
Senate House, covering part of the ground now occu- 



196 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

pied by that modern street, while the Basilica Aemilia 
covered the territory occupied by those modern houses 
as far as the building with a colonnade front on the right, 
the church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda. As we have 
said, the high embankment seen to the right of the 
Severus Arch marks roughly the northern limit of the 
Forum, but most of this embankment consists of debris 
accumulated there since ancient times. It is in that place 
the more recent excavations are being carried on. We 
are to bear in mind that we are seeing this area as it was a 
year or so ago. In 1900 the embankment was carried 
back several feet and a considerable part of the Comitium 
and the site of the Basilica Aemilia were uncovered. In 
the Comitium an important discovery was made. It is an 
ancient belief that Romulus was carried to heaven from 
the Comitium and that over his empty tomb a pave- 
ment of black stone was laid. Archaeologists have long 
sought for this famous " niger lapis " in vain but, in 1899, 
just in front of the Arch of Severus there was discovered 
a black pavement about twelve feet square which some 
claim to be this black stone. These stones of black mar- 
ble streaked with white are not the original pavement, 
but are part of a monument erected by Maxentius in 
honor of his son Romulus. They are, doubtless, res- 
torations, but even as such, they serve an important pur- 
pose in confirming the fact that the early Romans did 
believe that the tomb of Romulus was located there. 
Though the Comitium has been cleared now as far as 
the front wall of the S. Adriano Church, nothing of 



THE SENATE HOUSE. 1 97 

any importance has come to light. Two objects 
of interest found in the Comitium in earlier exca- 
vations were marble pedestals of statues dedicated to 
Florus Julius Constantine and to Arcadius, in the fourth 
century. These are located at the foot of the embank- 
ment nearest the S. Adriano Church. 

The Curia or Senate House stood on the far side of the 
Comitium, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet from the 
Rostra. That site of the Senate House, we are told, was 
covered in the earliest times by a small wood in which 
was a cave and a spring at which Tarpeia first caught 
sight of the Sabines. There it was that the first senators, 
dressed in sheepskins, met in a small hut covered by a 
thatched roof. Even this hut was consecrated because 
one of the earliest laws was that the Senate could not 
pass a measure unless assembled in a temple. Then 
came the Curia Hostilia, built by Tullus Hostilius, an 
oblong stone structure raised on a platform out of the 
reach of floods. Toward the end of the Republic, the 
senators were so frugal and stoical that no means had 
yet been taken to warm the hall in winter. Cicero wrote 
from here on January 6, 62 B. C. that the speaker Appius 
had summoned the senators to consider an important 
matter, but the cold was so intense that he had to dis- 
miss them while the populace stood around and jeered. 

The Curia Hostilia was probably repaired and enlarged by 
Sulla. It was burned down at the funeral of Clodius, we remem- 
ber, and a temple to Felicitas was contemplated. Then Julius 
Caesar secured permission to build his Curia Julia in 44 B. G, 



198 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

though this was not dedicated until 29 B. C. under Augustus, who 
added to it a court surrounded by a colonnade. The fire under 
Nero did much damage to the building, which was thereafter re- 
paired by Domitian. It was burned again under Carinus and was 
again rebuilt by Diocletian. About 630 A. D. Pope Honorius I 
appropriated the assembly hall of the Senate House for the Church 
S. Adriano. The classic form and adornments remained until 
the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the street "Via 
Bonella " was cut through the old building. From a political 
standpoint this was the most important building in the Roman 
world. It was the " hall of the assembly in which the fate of the 
world was decided." While the finely trained Roman senators 
were framing their laws on that spot for the government of a 
world-wide empire, while they were laying out the ground- work 
of law upon which much of modern civilization is founded, sav- 
ages were roaming over the site of Paris, and half-clad barbarians 
occupied the British Isles, which then lay almost beyond the 
confines of the known world. 

That first row of houses above the eastern end of the 
embankment has recently been torn down and the excava- 
tions have progressed some distance over the site of the 
little Xemple to the Sabine god Janus and the Basilica 
Aemilia, but nothing of great importance has been un- 
earthed as yet. 

The ruins of the two structures which stood at the 
east end of the Forum would be more naturally consid- 
ered in our next position along with the structures bor- 
dering the Forum on the south ; so there is nothing left 
for us here excepting the few remains of interest we can 
see within the Forum area itself. 

The most conspicuous object on this pavement before 



COLUMN OF PHOCAS. 1 99 

us, which, as we have said, dates from the time of Diocle- 
tian, is that single-fluted Corinthian column, seen just 
to the left of the columns of the Temple of Saturn down 
on our right. That is the Column of Phocas, erected in 
608 A. D. in honor of Phocas by the exarch Zmaragdus. 
It was the last monument erected about the Forum before 
the time of final ruin set in. It practically marks the close 
of the ancient period and the beginning of the middle 
ages. Art having degenerated at this time, and it being 
impossible to produce a splendid column like that of Tra- 
jan, one was probably taken from some ancient building 
and set up here to commemorate the achievements of that 
tyrant of the Eastern Empire. It is fifty- four feet high 
and was originally crowned with a gilded statue of Phocas. 
Byron called this " The blameless column with a buried 
base. ,, Its origin was discovered in 181 3 when this site 
was being excavated at the expense of the Duchess of 
Devonshire. If examined carefully, it is found to lean 
toward the southeast. 

To the left of the Column of Phocas we see what look 
like two great slabs of sculptured marble, standing on 
edge, one behind the other. There has been much specu- 
lation about the purpose of those two pieces of marble. 
They are often referred to as the Sculptured Plutei; 
some have said they were balustrades to the Rostra; on 
the map they are designated as Anaglypha Trajani. We 
are to go very near to them later on, and will then ex- 
amine them more closely. 

Before we turn to our next position there is one build- 



200 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ing in the mass of structures beyond the Forum which we 
should notice. Cast your eyes over the entablature of the 
Temple of Vespasian and the Arch of Severus, and slight- 
ly to the right of the peak of the roof of S. Adriano 
church, and you will see a distant building with three col- 
umns and an open porch with three windows above the 
porch and a low campanile to the left. That is the Church 
of St. Peter in Chains, S. Pietro in Vincoli, and contains 
Michelangelo's famous statue of Moses, which we shall 
have the privilege of seeing later. Without moving from 
this window in the Capitol building in which we have been 
standing, we will now turn and look more to the right. 

27. The Roman Forum, Southeast from the 
Capitol. 

Before we give our attention to the sites of individual 
buildings which once stood here, and around which some 
of the greatest events in history have transpired, we will 
think about the course of the Sacra Via, second in fame 
only to the Forum itself. We are looking over nearly the 
whole section traversed by this most renowned of all 
roads. When standing here before, we pointed out some 
of the most striking landmarks on this patch of earth, al- 
most every spot of which is interesting, and we must be 
sure we have them in mind now. Away to the left are 
the great Arches of Constantine's Basilica ; to the right of 
the Basilica is the Colosseum with its tier upon tier of 
colonnades lifted high in the air. Farther to the right is 



TEMPLE OF VESTA. 2d 

the Arch of Titus, standing on the elevated ground be- 
tween us and the Colosseum, and still farther in the same 
direction is the wooded summit of the Palatine Hill. The 
church with the tall, graceful bell-tower, between us and 
the Colosseum, is that of S. Francesca Romana. In the 
earliest times the Sacra Via is supposed to have run from 
a point on this side of the Colosseum near its centre, di- 
rectly toward us over the site of the present church of S. 
Francesca Romana, down the slope toward the eastern 
end of the Forum, passed along the Forum on the north, 
and finally ascended in a zigzag way to the summit of the 
Capitoline Hill. In kingly and republican times the 
Sacra Via diverged near the east end of the Forum to- 
ward the south, between the Regia, the home of the Ponti- 
fex Maximus, and the Temple of Vesta. The place where 
the Regia stood is hidden from us here by the entablature 
on these columns of the Temple of Saturn near us. The 
Temple of Vesta (Aedes Vestae on the map) stood more 
to the right toward the modern church of S. Maria Li- 
beratrice. From that point to this hill the Sacra Via 
skirted the south side of the Forum, and then probably 
passed in front and to the left of this Temple of Saturn 
and made its way with several turns to the Capitoline 
summit. 

In the early days the whole course of this road or path was un- 
doubtedly irregular and winding, but as many buildings began to 
rise on either side it followed a definite line with sharp angles. 
This original path received its name Sacra Via, it is believed, 
because of three very sacred hut temples which stood beside it: 



202 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the hut in which the public fire was kept, the Temple of Vesta; 
the hut which sheltered the household gods or Penates brought 
from Troy; and a third which served as the abode of the high 
priest. In those times the road was divided into three sections, 
the first extending from its origin to the house of the " rex sacri- 
ficulus," the priest who made the offerings once made by a king, 
on the summit of the ridge this side of the Colosseum ; the second 
from this house to that of the Pontifex Maximus, the Regia; the 
third section lay between the Regia and the Capitoline summit. 
During Imperial times the name of Clivus Capitolinus was given 
to the road from the base to the summit of the Capitoline Hill. 
(Lanciani.) 

The Sacra Via changed its course considerably during the last 
of the Republic and in Imperial times. When the Temple of 
Csesar was erected, as some claim, near the place where his body 
had been burned, in the east end of the Forum, the Sacred Way 
was made to pass around it to the north and then turn sharply 
toward its old course on the south side of the Forum. One of 
the most extensive changes took place under Hadrian when he 
built a temple to Venus and Rome this side of the Colosseum, 
on ground now partly occupied by the Church of S. Francesca 
Romana. At that time he caused the Sacred Via to be turned 
toward the south around the Temple of Venus and Rome, passing 
through the Arch of Titus and then to the north in front of 
the Basilica of Constantine. The pavement of this road of Had- 
rian's time was uncovered in 1900, a part of which we are to see 
(Stereograph No. 29). 

Now let us fix our eyes upon those eight granite col- 
umns of the Temple of Saturn directly in front of us. 
The first temple was built on the spot where these columns 
stand in 497 B. C, though the tradition is that an altar 
to Saturn stood there many years earlier. For cen- 
turies the Saturn Temple was the Aerarium or Public 



THE DAYS OF LONG AGO. 203 

Treasury. The pediment was surrounded with figures 
of Tritons blowing horns, of which design Macrobius 1 : 8 
gives the somewhat fanciful explanation, that since the 
time of Saturn history has become clear and vocal, while 
previous to that, like the tails of the Tritons, it was hidden 
in the earth. The light gray columns we now see belong 
to a rebuilding as late as Diocletian. They have probably 
been taken from some other building, and the work of 
restoration must have been done in a bungling manner, 
as is shown by the fact that they are placed at irregular 
intervals. Thrilling indeed are the memories that gather 
about this ancient structure, and immortal the fame of 
many of the men whose deeds still influence the world, 
and who, like ourselves, lingered about it. In the days of 
the long ago Pompey stood down by these columns sur- 
rounded by Roman centurions, listening to the orations 
that Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, was delivering from 
the Rostra. On these columns, two thousand years ago, 
the hands of Horace and of Nero may have rested ; and it 
was there, on the steps right in front of these columns, 
that Caesar, marching southward from the Rubicon with 
his Roman war-dogs, encountered the dauntless form of 
Metullus who vainly opposed his attempt to secure the 
public funds abandoned by the terrified Senate. " Stand 
back, young man ! " cried Caesar. " It is easier for me to 
do a deed than threaten it." If we notice the location of 
this temple on the map we see that it really stood at the 
southwestern corner of the Forum, though it is usually 



204 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

classed as one of those standing at the west end of the 
Forum. 

This brings us to the ruins of buildings on the south 
side of the Forum. Nearest us on this south side is that 
spacious and noble pavement laid upon a foundation of 
ponderous masonry, the site of the Basilica Julia. On 
the pavement are the bases for four rows of columns, six- 
teen in a row, showing, as you will observe, that the build- 
ing had a broad central space and double side aisles. The 
first Basilica Julia was founded there, we remember, by 
Julius Caesar in B. C. 46 to enlarge the Forum. That 
structure was enlarged by Augustus, who dedicated it to 
his daughter Julia, but before the work was completed it 
was destroyed by fire. As restored, the building was used 
for two purposes — as a place for holding the law courts, 
and as an exchange. It was over three hundred feet long 
and one hundred and fifty feet wide, a flight of steps as- 
cending to the building from the street. The pavement 
upon which those people are walking is partly ancient 
and partly restored. The central space was covered with 
richly colored marble and the side aisles were paved with 
white marble, a portion of which is still preserved, there 
being drawn upon it a number of circles used by the an- 
cients in playing a game resembling our modern game of 
draughts. If you will count the pedestals of that row of 
columns to the left of the centre you will find there are 
just sixteen, including the broken pillar at this end of the 
line. These pillars were built of brick and faced with 
marble. The crumbling columns seen at this end of the 



TEMPLE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 20£ 

Basilica are supposed by some authorities to be ancient. 
On the roof of this Basilica the crazy Caligula used to 
stand and throw gold and silver coins into the Forum for 
the rabble to scramble for. 

Beyond the Basilica Julia on a raised superstructure 
may be seen three beautiful Corinthian columns, among 
the most magnificent architectural remains of the ancient 
city, belonging to the Temple of Castor and Pollux. 
The columns are of the purest Parian marble and their 
capitals and architraves are most splendid, giving evidence 
of the finest workmanship. The platform of masonry, upon 
which these columns rest, is twenty-two feet high and was 
reached by a flight of eighteen marble steps, and the col- 
umns are forty-five feet high and five feet in diameter. 
The temple was dedicated by A. Postumius, B. C. 482, 
to the twin gods Castor and Pollux, in grateful remem- 
brance of aid rendered by them in defeating the Latins at 
the battle of Lake Regillus in B. C. 496, and ever after 
on the anniversary of the battle numerous sacrifices were 
offered in that temple, and Roman knights rode by in 
splendid array crowned with olive wreaths. 

If you will look sharply, you can see a steel cable bound 
around the three pillars near the top, in order to give them 
greater solidity and prevent them from falling. Where 
the cable is wrapped about the columns, it can be more 
plainly seen. Originally, the temple had eleven columns 
on each side and eight on the front, facing the Forum, 
and with its lofty superstructure and commanding posi- 
tion it was one of the most striking and impressive build- 



206 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ings in the Forum. The columns we see belong to a re- 
construction by Tiberius in 7 B. C. Caligula united the 
temple with his palace on the Palatine Hill, utilizing it as 
a kind of vestibule, and, in his mad caprice, he frequently 
came into the temple and sat between the statues of the 
gods, receiving with them the worship of the people. 

The story is told that a Gaul, once seeing him seated on a throne 
between the twin gods, with an artificial beard of beaten gold, 
in imitation of these divinities, burst out laughing. Calig- 
ula sent for him, and asked, " Do you know who I am ? " 

" Most certainly I do," replied the barbarian with blunt candor, 
"you are an arrant fool." 

" Who is this man ? " asked the Emperor. On learning that 
he was a shoemaker, Caligula waved him away saying that it was 
beneath his dignity to take vengeance upon a cobbler. 

Caligula had a favorite horse which he called " Go-ahead," and 
he built for him a marble stall with an ivory manger, purple 
housings, and a jeweled frontlet. He even proposed making him 
consul. Another piece of eccentricity on the part of this Emperor 
was the throwing of a bridge from the Palatine Hill to the Capi- 
toline and making temples and triumphal arches serve as its 
support. 

In 88 B. C. Sulla and his colleague in the consulship, 
Q. Pompeius Rufus, were attacked on the terrace in front 
of this temple by the followers of Marius, and the contest 
between Cato and Metullus in reference to the recall of 
Pompey from Asia occurred in the same place. 

Pliny tells of a raven that was hatched upon the roof of the 
Temple of Castor and Pollux and flew to a bootmaker's shop op- 
posite. Every morning it would fly to the Rostra Julii, which 
some claim was directly in front of this temple near the Temple 



VICUS TUSCUS. . 207 

of Caesar (see the map of the Forum) where he would salute the 
Emperor Tiberius, as well as Germanicus, Drusus and other 
notables as they passed along the Sacra Via in front of the Ros- 
tra, after which he returned to the shop. This the bird did for 
several years, till the owner of a competing shop, jealous of the 
advertising his rival was receiving, killed the bird. For so doing, 
the man was put to death, and the bird, such was its place in the 
popular esteem, was given a public funeral and was buried in the 
field of Rediculus on the western side of the Appian Way, at the 
second milestone. "No such crowds," says Pliny, "had ever 
escorted the funeral of anyone out of the whole number of Rome's 
distinguished men." 

A glance at the map shows the exact location of the 
Temple of Castor and Pollux (Aedes Castorum) on a line 
with and to the east of the Basilica Julia. These are the 
two structures which bound the Forum on the south. 

As we note also on the map, the Basilica Julia and the 
Temple of Castor were separated by a narrow street — all 
the streets in the Forum, for want of space, were neces- 
sarily narrow — called the Vicus Tuscus, which led from 
the Forum to the Circus Maximus. We can see its course 
in the Forum just this side of the raised platform on 
which the Temple of Castor stood. Originally, a colony 
of Tuscans settled there, and from this came its name. 
The street rivaled the Sacra Via in its religious impor- 
tance, being the direction taken by the great procession 
of the Ludi Romani, in which the statues of the gods were 
carried from the Capitol to the Circus Maximus. That 
street was anciently occupied by perfumers and incense 
dealers, whose bazaars offered a very attractive appear- 



208 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

ance. You can see some brick work, the remains of this 
line of shops, between the Basilica Julia and the Temple 
of Castor and Pollux. The end one has been excavated, 
and, unlike the rest, is a meat shop, famous for a single 
incident. Those who have been saddened by the pathetic 
story of Virginius will be interested to learn that this 
meat shop stood where the Vicus Tuscus meets the Sacra 
Via, at the northeast corner of the Basilica Julia. It was 
from this shop that the knife was taken which saved Vir- 
ginia's honor but took her life. You remember the story. 
Virginius, who saw his daughter being led away, the cap- 
tive of a despot, demanded permission to speak with her, 
and it being granted, he drew her near a butcher's shop 
which stood at the corner of the two streets, Tuscus and 
Sacra, and seizing a knife which lay on a meat block, 
plunged it into his daughter's heart. 

Coming now to the east side of the Forum there are 
only two structures that we know anything about of 
which remains are found — the Rostra Julii and the Tem- 
ple of Julius Caesar. The entablature of the near Tem- 
ple of Saturn hides from us most of the ground on which 
that Rostra and Temple stood. Still we can see part of 
the ruins by looking over the northwest corner of the 
Saturn temple, the corner near us, and to the right of the 
upper portion of the Column of Phocas. Their location is 
found more definitely on the map, Rostra Julii and 
T.emplum divi Julii. To that place the body of Caesar 
was taken after his murder. According to some authori- 
ties, the new Rostra had been erected there some time 



ROSTRA JULII. 209 

before by Julius Caesar himself. It was on this new 
tribune of the orators, March 20th, B. C. 44, the day of 
Caesar's funeral, that Mark Antony pronounced his vehe- 
ment oration, which so powerfully affected the minds of 
the people that they immediately burned the body behind 
the Rostra. Such an act among the most sacred temples 
of the city was an honor unparalleled in the history of 
Rome. Afterwards, the ashes were interred where the 
funeral pyre had stood and a memorial column dedicated 
to the father of his country, " parenti patriae," was erected 
to commemorate the august occasion. Augustus subse- 
quently extended the temple over the place where the body 
had been cremated and the ashes deposited, and dedicated 
it " aedem divi Julii," to the deified Julius Caesar. 

The temple was a small building erected on a lofty 
superstructure, as were most of the buildings in the 
Forum, probably to protect them against inundations of 
the Tiber. That was the first temple in Rome dedicated 
to a mortal. It was totally destroyed in 1546, and is now 
nothing but a mass of rough and broken stones. 

The Rostra Julii, which stood on this side of the tem- 
ple, was adorned by Augustus with the beaks of galleys 
captured in the battle of Actium. There the body of 
Augustus was taken and placed on a bier, while Tiberius 
pronounced a eulogy over it. 

But according to some the Rostra was famed for an earlier 
event than the funeral of either Julius or Augustus Caesar. The 
occasion referred to was when the greatest of Roman generals, 
Julius Caesar, was celebrating his last triumph in commemoration 



2IO ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

of his victory over the Pompeians, at Munda. He had well-nigh 
reached the summit of his earthly ambition. But one thing re- 
mained — to be Emperor of Rome. It is said that Julius Caesar 
was fond of repeating the words of the Greek poet : 

" Hold sacred law and right! But if thou break them, 
Then break them for a throne." 

But for centuries the government here had been a republic, and 
soft words about liberty and fraternity and modest bearing were 
necessary before even the mighty Caesar could assume that title. 
Five months after this final triumph, in February, B. C. 44, a 
wild and ancient feast of the Lupercalia was being celebrated, in 
which, nearly destitute of clothing and amid scenes of the most 
revolting abandonment, the Romans carried on the festival. 
Caesar, dressed in his splendid and triumphal robes, sat out there 
on the Rostra Julii, which had just been erected, watching the 
mad bacchanalian feast, when Mark Antony, the Consul, half 
drunk and nearly naked, approached him, bearing in his hand 
a laurel wreath, which he offered to Caesar as King of Rome. 
Twice Caesar, with well -simulated modesty, refused it, affirming 
that Rome was a Republic, and that the everlasting principles of 
equality and liberty forbade his acceptance. A burst of thunder- 
ous applause greeted this remark from the crowds that thronged 
the Forum. But this spontaneous outburst on the part of the 
people was not in accordance with Caesar's desires, and it angered 
him. Springing to his feet he offered to bare his neck if anyone 
would strike. Many in the vast crowd would have liked to have 
accepted the invitation, but the hour had not come. Afterwards 
Caesar accepted the crown on religious grounds, shielding him- 
self behind a prophecy in the Sibylline books that none but a king 
could ever gain victory over the Parthians; and thus, in order, 
as he pretended, to extend the benefits of the Republic and be 
victor over its enemies, he fastened upon the Romans the rule 
and despotism of the Caesars. It was this piece of disinterested 
benevolence that cost the Emperor his life. Only a month later 



THE>WORLDS TOPMOST MAN. 211 

he was assassinated, not in the Capitol from which we are look- 
ing, as Shakespeare says, nor yet in the Senate House to our 
left beside the Forum, but the "brute part was played" in the 
new Senate House of Pompey, situated a half-mile behind us, on 
the site of the Church of S. Andrea delle Valle on the Corso 
Vittorio Emrnanuel, to which we have already referred. 

In this very place where the life of Julius Csesar cen- 
tred and where his death was first mourned, the stirring 
events of his great career come to us with wonderfully 
increased interest. Julius Caesar, more perhaps than any 
other man who ever lived, has impressed himself upon the 
history and civilization of western Europe. He stood here 
at the turning point in Roman affairs, when it seemed as 
though centralized power in Rome was about to vanish, 
and the numerous Roman provinces revert to their former 
independence. As with a stroke of magic, he changed all 
this, and laid the foundation for the most splendid and 
despotic imperialism the world has ever seen. 

Nothing that unfolds or illumines that wonderful life can ever 
be without interest to men. It is told of him that when, but a lad, 
on a voyage to the island of Rhodes, he was captured by Mediter- 
ranean pirates who asked twenty talents for his ransom. To their 
astonishment he offered them fifty and remained with them thirty- 
eight days after the money was paid and he was entitled to his 
liberty, in order to inform himself as to their secret haunts and 
methods of procedure. The pirates, who were greatly amused at 
his wit and humor, were loath to part with him ; but their sorrow 
was greatly increased when they met him again, for he returned 
and captured their entire fleet and carried the pirates as prisoners 
to Pergamos. 

During his consulate, he gave shows of extraordinary splendor 



212 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

and adorned the city with a magnificent colonnade. Bibulus, a 
mere nobody, was his companion in the consulate, and the wits of 
the day, in consideration of his nonentity, used to date their notes, 
" in the consulship of Julius and Caesar," instead of the consulship 
of Caesar and Bibulus. Caesar took care, however, that his col- 
league contributed his share to the expense of these extravagant 
entertainments and elegant structures, but the people lost sight 
of Bibulus completely and attributed all to Caesar. " I see," Bibu- 
lus was wont to say, "it is with us as with the Dioscuri; every- 
one speaks of the Temple of Castor and forgets to name his fel- 
low Pollux." 

It is not to be wondered at that, at the close of this consulate, 
Julius Caesar was a bankrupt. To one asking him how much he 
was worth, he replied laughingly, " I need two hundred and fifty 
millions of sesterces to be worth nothing." Fortunately, he had 
rich supporters, and he borrowed eight hundred and three talents 
(nearly a million dollars) from Crassus, which, by the aid of the 
opportunities presented to him in the public service, he readily 
found means to repay. 

As we have already pointed out, the Sacra Via was 
made to pass around the Temple of Caesar on the north 
and then turn sharply south, on this side of the temple, 
toward the Temple of Castor. It was this construction 
of the Temple of Caesar and the turning of the Sacra Via 
around it that so materially shortened the Forum, of which 
we have already spoken. 

At some later time another building was erected across 
the east end of the Forum, this side of the Sacra Via. It 
is represented on the map by an open rectangle. Nothing 
as to the age or use of this latter structure has yet come 
to light. 



TWO FAMOUS ARCHES. 213 

Between the Temple of Caesar and the Temple of Castor 
stood the triumphal Arch of Augustus (Arcus Augusti 
on the map). We can almost see the foundations of this 
arch beneath the short piece of entablature which rests 
upon that pillar of the Saturn Temple, the pillar nearest 
the Basilica Julia. The arch was raised in 29 B. C. to 
commemorate the victories of Augustus in Dalmatia, in 
Egypt and at Actium. 

This completes the ruins of structures that more imme- 
diately bordered on the Forum. There are a few more 
objects of interest within the Forum area that should re- 
ceive attention. The Arch of Tiberius stood over the 
Sacra Via in front of this near or western end of the 
Basilica Julia, but the foundation platform of the Saturn 
temple hides the site from us. Its few remains are scat- 
tered all over the Forum. It was erected in 17 A. D. in 
memory of a victory by Germanicus, in which he recov- 
ered the standards which Varus had lost. 

On the Forum side of that part of the Sacra Via which 
lay in front of the Basilica Julia are what seem to be 
pedestals of monumental columns. They are practically 
all hidden from us by the Temple of Saturn columns. 
Some authorities have claimed that they are the ruins of 
the row of ancient shops that once stood there — the 
Tabernae Veteres — but stamps on bricks found at the foot 
of two of them show that they belong to the age of Con- 
stantine. These columns must have added greatly to the 
picturesqueness of the Forum. 

The great Cloaca Maxima ran beneath the farther or 



214 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

eastern end of the Forum and the Basilica Julia. The 
map shows its exact course. 

From now on we are to consider the ruins of buildings 
which stood on either side of the Sacra Via between the 
Forum and the Colosseum. 

The modern building to the left, built against the Pala- 
tine Hill, is the comparatively modern Church of S. Maria 
Liberatrice. In front of it, directly before us, are some 
of the most interesting ruins in all this vicinity — the ruins 
of the Temple of Vesta. On the map their position is 
given by a heavy circle v/ith the name Aedes Vestae. 

In prehistoric times, when fire could only be obtained by fric- 
tion, every community preserved a public fire which was always 
burning night and day, and which was located in the most central 
part of the village, generally in or near the Forum or market- 
place. When anyone wanted to start a fire, he went to this com- 
mon hearthstone, obtained a burning brand and carried it off 
with him. The care of this public fire was always given to the 
young girls of the village, since their duties did not call them 
away from home to cultivate the fields or in pursuit of the chase 
or abroad on the warpath. 

As time went on this simple custom was dignified into a most 
sacred religious rite. And so it was that, when the early settlers 
came here, they instituted the worship of Vesta, which consisted 
simply in the keeping of a public fire by young girls in a little hut 
out there by the Palatine Hill. Numa, Romulus's successor, built 
the first Temple of Vesta, and set apart the Vestal Virgins to care 
for it. These were destined to be, next to the King himself, the 
most exalted personages in those ancient times. Two considera- 
tions doubtless led the King and the Roman people to give such 
distinction to the worship of Vesta and to her priestesses; one, 
that in a Roman family, the hearth was the centre of social purity 



THE TEMPLE OF VESTA. 215 

and affection, so a public fire burning on a public hearthstone was 
to be emblematic of this social purity for the community, and the 
virtue of the Vestal a model for all the nation; second, because 
Romulus's mother was a Vestal Virgin, and hence all those who 
succeeded in the office were accorded the highest consideration. 
Numa appointed four Vestals, but the number was afterwards in- 
creased to six, each of whom served thirty years. Plutarch tells 
us that for ten years they were being instructed in their duties, 
ten years they practiced them, and ten years they passed in in- 
structing others. Ovid says that the Temple of Vesta was 
made round, as a symbol of the earth. That circular structure was 
surmounted by a conical roof, which was crowned by a statue of a 
Vestal Virgin, supposed by some to represent the mother of 
Romulus, and the Temple contained, besides the fire, the Palla- 
dium or protecting image of Pallas, believed to have been brought 
from Troy, The original temple built by Numa was destroyed by 
the invasion of the Gauls in B. C. 390. Learning of their ap- 
proach the Vestals hid the Palladium and the other relics in an 
earthen jar and buried them in the earth. A second fire, in 
241 B. C, again demolished the temple; and in order to save the 
Palladium, Csecilius Metellus, the pontifex maximus, threw him- 
self into the flames and rescued it at the peril of his life, losing 
an eye and an arm. In 210 B. C. another fire broke out in the 
temple, but the structure was saved by the heroism of a company 
of slaves. Nero rebuilt it after the fire in his reign. It was again 
burned under Commodus in 191 A. D., and the restoration by 
the Empress of Septimius Severus is the last of which there is 
any record. Theodosius II closed the temple in 394, when the 
sacred fire, which had been burning for more than a thousand 
years, was extinguished for ever. As late as 1489 the little struc- 
ture was found in good condition, but in 1549 the builders of St. 
Peter's razed it to the ground. Thirty-five fragments were found 
scattered over the Forum in 1877, but only a mass of concrete 
marks its site. 



2l6 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Farther away, east of the Temple of Vesta, was the 
House of the Vestals, Atrium Vestse or Domus Virgi- 
num Vestalium. This was an oblong brick building con- 
structed during the reign of Septimius Severus. 

We can get the best idea of the plan of the structure by 
studying its position on the map to the right of the Tem- 
ple of Vesta looking toward the Colosseum. We perceive 
that it was bounded on the north by the Sacra Via, and 
on the south by the Nova Via. As we can see, the Atrium 
(Atrium Vestse), the central room or court of the palace, 
comprised a large part of the whole area. The Atrium 
was surrounded by state apartments and the private apart- 
ments of the Vestals (Domus Virginum Vestalium). Ex- 
cavations recently made reveal the fact that the Vestals 
lived in almost regal splendor. 

The atrium of their palace had niches in its walls filled with 
statues of celebrated Vestals, being one of the most magnificent 
chambers in Rome, and indeed, from this compartment, the whole 
structure was named, being frequently called the Atrium Vestae. 
A stately colonnade of forty-eight Corinthian columns inclosed 
the ground floor of the palace, surmounted by a second colonnade 
of an equal number of columns, made of costly breccia corallina, 
which gave to the building an elegant and impressive appearance. 
Two of these columns have been preserved, simply because they 
could not be burnt into lime. On the ground floor of this palatial 
abode were spacious courts and splendid apartments of state, and 
on the second floor were the private apartments of the virgins, 
consisting of luxurious bathrooms and a sumptuous suite of 
rooms for each priestess. The walls and pavements of the whole 
house were faced with richly covered marbles and rare mosaics. 
Notwithstanding these superb appointments, the building was 



THE REGIA. 21 7 

damp and unwholesome, caused by the moist and clammy bank of 
the Palatine Hill, which was just beside it on the south, rising 
abruptly above the ground floor of the house for more than thirty 
feet. In the beginning physicians were not allowed in the palace, 
but the miasma which lurked in its marble chambers necessitated 
a change in this rule. As a precaution against rheumatism and 
fever the walls were made hollow and a current of hot air passed 
through them and between the floors, and hot-air furnaces were 
placed in all parts of the building, but the danger was only partly 
averted. 

It was customary to choose a child under ten years of age to fill 
a vacancy in the order caused by the death or retirement of a 
Vestal, which was obligatory at the age of forty. Upon her elec- 
tion by the Senate, the successful candidate took the oath of fidel- 
ity and chastity. If they allowed the sacred fire to go out, thus 
breaking their oath of fidelity, they were scourged by the Pontifex 
Maximus. If they violated their oath of chastity, they were buried 
alive. At public functions in ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins 
took precedence even of the consuls, and occupied seats with the 
Empress on all state occasions. If a Vestal passed a condemned 
man on his way to execution, the man was immediately set at 
liberty. So great were the privileges of the order, and so eager 
were aristocratic families to obtain the honor, that Augustus 
is said to have made a defeated candidate a present of one hun- 
dred thousand dollars as a salve for her wounded feelings and in 
order to propitiate her friends. 

The Regia, the official residence of the Pontifex Maxi- 
mus or high priest, was located a short distance to the left 
of the Temple of Vesta, near the eastern end of the 
Forum. If we could look through the entablature above 
these columns of the Temple of Saturn, to the very spot 
where it stood, we should see only a few blocks of marble 
and the fragments of an ancient wall. The map shows its 



2l8 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

position just to the right or east of the Temple of Julius 
Caesar. It is said that Numa erected a religious structure 
near these ruins, on neutral ground, between the Romans 
and the Sabines. Later on this building took its place 
as the residence of the Pontifex Maximus. It was used 
in this capacity down to the time of Augustus, who, we 
are told by Dion Cassius, presented it to the Vestals be- 
cause it adjoined their temple. 

We are looking upon this section of Rome as it was in 
the early part of 1900, and then, as we have said, only a 
few fragments of the Regia had been found. Later in 
1900 a well was discovered near one of the walls of this 
structure belonging perhaps to the third or second cen- 
tury B. C. The well, which was about twenty feet deep, 
was filled with cinders, ashes, pottery, marble fragments 
of the palace, and bronze spear-points. Records show 
that spears, with marble shafts and metal points, said to 
belong to Romulus, were kept in the Regia. These spears 
were suspended in such a way as to indicate the slightest 
vibration by their oscillatory motion, and the least move- 
ment on their part was thought to foretell coming disaster, 
frequently an earthquake. They became connected with 
public worship in this way : Foremost among the gods to 
whom the Pontifex Maximus offered sacrifices was Jupi- 
ter, always represented as holding the threefold bolts in 
his hand — the bolt penetrating, the bolt burning, and the 
bolt shaking ; the first was represented by the water in the 
well; the second (burning or lightning) by the sacred fire 



CHURCH OF S. LORENZO IN MIRANDA. 219 

in the Temple of Vesta; and the third (shaking or earth- 
quake) was represented by the spears. 

The memory of Julius Caesar must always be closely 
associated with the site of the Regia, for it was there he 
lived as Pontifex Maximus during the greater part of his 
public life. His own private living rooms were on the op- 
posite side of the way. There he lived with his mother, 
to whom he was devotedly attached. Indeed, she, rather 
than his girl wife, kept house for him. And then, too, we 
remember, it was from that little plot of ground, hardly 
more than two hundred yards from us, that the great man 
started out to Pompey's senate house on that last morn- 
ing of his remarkable life, that ill-fated 5th of March, 44 
B.C. 

Looking beyond the Forum, there are three structures 
which we must notice at this point. They stand almost 
in line between that embankment seen at the northeast 
corner of the Forum and the Church of S. Francesca Ro- 
mana in front of the Colosseum. The first of these struc- 
tures is the Church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda, the pil- 
lared front of which can be discerned just over the Col- 
umn of Phocas. It is built on the ancient walls of the 
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, and the portico with 
its six columns on the front and three on the side belongs 
to the original temple. The full extent and the exact lo- 
cation of the Church and Temple should be noted on the 
map. 

When Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pius, died 
A. D. 141, the subservient Senate decreed that Temple, 



2 20 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

with priestesses attached to it, to commemorate her death. 
As the Emperor died before the structure was finished 
they dedicated the Temple to him as well. Those old 
Corinthian columns are of Euboean (cipollino) marble, 
a variegated green stone, and are forty-six feet high. The 
frieze, with its griffins, vases, festoons and candelabra, is 
considered one of the finest gems of Roman art. The 
beautiful steps of the temple were taken to St. Peter's. 
Its first dedication as a Christian church was in the seventh 
or eighth century, and this is largely accountable for its 
partial preservation. 

Just beyond the Church of S. Lorenzo we can see a 
low circular structure crowned with a small cupola that 
belonged to the Temple of Romulus (Heroon Romuli), 
the son of one of the last emperors, Maxentius. Imme- 
diately behind that Temple of Romulus was the site of 
the Temple of the Sacred City (Templum Sacrae Urbis), 
whose back wall formed part of the enclosure of the 
Forum of Peace. In the sixth century Pope Felix IV 
opened a communication between the two temples and 
dedicated them both as a church to SS. Cosmas and 
Damianus, two physicians and martyrs. The map by its 
black lines shows how much of the walls of the ancient 
buildings still remain. After a time we shall be in a better 
position to inspect the Temple of Romulus (Stereograph 
No. 29), and then we can see that it shows a decline in 
elegance and taste. Instead of having its round cupola 
surrounded by a peristyle of fluted Corinthian columns, 
as we saw in the Temple of Matuta (Stereograph No. 1), 



BASILICA OF CONSTANTINE. 221 

we find a " confusion of curved and straight lines, a round 
hall between two rectangular ones." 

As we shall not be in a better position at any other time 
to view the Basilica of Constantine, we will direct our 
attention now to its three gigantic arches. The great 
area just east of the Temple of Romulus, covered by the 
ruins of this vast building, was formerly the Forum Cupe- 
dinis, or fruit market, " the latest mention of which dates 
from the time of Augustus." Afterward Domitian built 
spice warehouses there, but they were burned down before 
the Basilica was begun. The monstrous structure, of 
which these three arches are but fragmentary remains, 
was commenced by Maxentius in the early part of the 
fourth century and was finished by Constantine. The 
Basilica had a broad nave with two side aisles, as we can 
readily see by the plan on the map. The vaulted ceiling 
of the nave was supported by eight Corinthian columns. 
Originally, the structure faced the east and the entrance 
was on the side toward the Colosseum ; afterward a new 
entrance was opened, on the south side, looking toward 
the Sacra Via. Lanciani suggests that the roof of the 
Basilica remained standing until the earthquake of 1349, 
when the ceiling of the nave and the south aisle collapsed. 
The roof of the north aisle is still perfect, and for centu- 
ries it has been covered with so deep an accumulation of 
soil that, at times, it has been used for a garden. Of 
course the three arches we see were those on the north 
side of the nave. The structure itself has been used for 



22 2 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

various purposes, as a cattle-shed and a riding-school and, 
in 1725, as a hayloft. 

Contemplating that immense structure, Raphael just- 
ly remarked that architecture was the last art that 
decayed at Rome, the buildings of the later Emperors be- 
ing as good as those of the first, but that the painting and 
sculpture of this period are abominable. Only the name 
of the Christian Emperor Constantine saved the Basilica 
from destruction in the dark period of the Middle Ages. 
It is the last of a long series of wonderful buildings which 
bear the impress of the grandeur of the genius of An- 
cient Rome, exciting the amazement and winning the ad- 
miration of the world. 

This brings us to the Church of S. Francesca, nearer 
the Colosseum, and the ancient Temple of Venus and 
Rome, built by Hadrian on the site of the vestibule of 
Nero's Golden House. T ( he S. Francesca Church was 
constructed on a portion of the site of the temple by Leo 
IV and Nicholas I, in the 9th century, and was restored 
in 1612 by Paul V, while the handsome bell tower is one of 
the best that have been preserved to us from the thirteenth 
century. The church is a monument to one of the devoted 
Christians of the earlier centuries. It is seldom that the 
passing tourist takes time to think of the beautiful and 
heroic lives commemorated by these old churches. S. 
Francesca Romana was of noble family and remarkable 
for her piety. She founded the order of Oblate Nuns, all 
of whom belonged to aristocratic families. The founda- 
tions of the Temple of Venus and Rome were laid on the 



TEMPLE OF VENUS AND ROME. 223 

anniversary of the founding of Rome, April 21, A. D. 
131, but the dedication took place A. D. 135. Little 
remains standing of the original edifice except a mass of 
Corinthian cornice near the cella and facing toward the 
Colosseum. In 391 A. D. the splendid building was closed 
and abandoned to its fate, but it continued to stand in a 
good state of preservation until A. D. 625, when Pope 
Honorius carried off the gilt bronze tiling of its roof to 
the Basilica of St. Peter's. 

Hadrian drew the plans for the temple himself and afterwards 
submitted them to Apollodorus of Damascus, the famous architect 
of Trajan's Forum. The architect frankly criticised the Emperor's 
drawings, saying that the statues were too large for their niches, 
that the deities, if they rose from their seats, would certainly 
thrust their heads through the ceiling; that the substructure upon 
which the temple rests ought to have been higher so as to be seen 
to greater advantage from the Sacra Via and the Forum. Fur- 
thermore, he argued that the alterations suggested would have 
given room for spacious vaults beneath the temple which, from 
their proximity to the Colosseum, could be used for the storing 
of the machinery necessary for the amphitheatre. It is recorded 
that this just criticism so angered Hadrian that he ordered the 
man's eyes put out, but this is very improbable. 

Originally the temple had a grand portico of gray granite col- 
umns, the fragments of which are now strewn over the surround- 
ing area. The temple also had a double front, so to speak, one 
toward the Forum and the other facing the Colosseum. Formerly 
the renowned statue of Nero, one hundred feet high, built by order 
of Nero, stood near the Colosseum at the entrance of the Golden 
House of Nero, which covered all the ground between that place 
and the Palatine. When Hadrian determined to build his temple 
he decided to remove the statue. This removal was effected by the 



224 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

aid of twenty-four elephants, the statue all the time remaining 
in an upright position. Hadrian, moreover, changed the statue 
from that of Nero into a statue of the God of the Sun by altering 
its features and surrounding its head with bronze rays. 

The seemingly barren space lying this side of the 
Church of S. Francesca and the Arch of Titus, extending 
approximately, from the church and arch on the south- 
east to the House of the Vestals nearer us, and from the 
Sacra Via, in front of the Basilica of Constantine on the 
northeast, to the Nova Via near the Palatine on the south- 
west, was very much disputed territory until the excava- 
tions of 1878-79. Then the bases of ten or eleven rows of 
stone pillars were found, which, with other remains, have 
led to the conclusion that a large building known as the 
Porticus Margaritaria stood there, a portico occupied 
by jewelers and goldsmiths. Later on the space was prob- 
ably cut up into regular shops by brick walls raised be- 
tween each pair of stone pillars. The shops probably date 
from about 134 A. D. 

The celebrated Arch of Titus, standing so proudly upon 
the summit of the Sacra Via, is the most beautiful of the 
remaining arches of Rome. It speaks eloquently for the 
artistic taste of Titus, who planned the arch, although he 
did not live to finish it, the work being completed after 
the death of Titus by his brother Domitian. The arch 
was erected to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem, 
and its fine bas-reliefs represent spoils taken from the 
temple there — as the silver trumpets, the table with the 
shew-bread, and the seven-branched candlestick. 



THE ARCH OF TITUS. 225 

During the ceaseless combats of the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries waged here, the arch formed the door- 
way into the fortified enclosure of the domain of the war- 
like Frangipani family, which included the Colosseum and 
a greater part of the Palatine Hill, and on this account it 
suffered great damage. The short reign of Titus was 
saddened by three public calamities, ever memorable in 
history — the eruption of Vesuvius, when Pompeii and 
Herculaneum were destroyed; a fearful plague in Rome, 
attended by scenes of indescribable horror and a fire, 
which raged for three days and three nights, devastating 
nearly all the buildings of the Campus Martius. 

That portion of the Sacra Via extending from the Summa Sacra 
Via (the eminence on which the Arch of Titus now stands), and 
the Colosseum, was the favorite walk of Horace, and we can al- 
most imagine him taking it now. Why, it seems but yesterday 
when right there on the famous street he met the bore who nearly 
plagued him to death, as he tells us in the ninth Satire of his first 
book, which is said to be the best picture of a bore ever written. 

" Plow do you do, my sweet friend ? " asked the bore. 

" Pretty well, as times go," replied the poet ; and then, to his 
horror, he sees the bore turn and follow. 

" Can I do anything for you ? " asks Horace, a little sarcastic- 
ally, broadly hinting in his tone that he prefers being allowed to 
resume his walk alone. The bore starts in by praising himself, 
and, as he does so, Horace walks very fast in this direction on 
past the Temple of Vesta, then skirting the Basilica of Julia, vain- 
ly looking for the sight of a friendly face or an opportunity to es- 
cape this human plague. 

"Where are you going?" asks the bore. 

" I am going to visit a friend across the Tiber, who lives not far 
from Caesar's Gardens," said Horace, inventing a visit far enough 



2 26 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

distant to dampen the ardor of his companion in case he was set 
upon following him. 

" Very well," replied the leech, " I have nothing to do and am 
far from lazy; I will go all the way with you. If I am any judge of 
my own worth, you will make me one of your intimate friends, 
for I can make good verses, as good and as fast as another. I 
am sure Hermogenes is jealous of me!" 

" Have you a mother, sir ? " asks Horace impressively. " Have 
you any relatives to whom your safety is a matter of importance ? " 

" None, whatever," was the answer. " I have buried them all." 

" Fortunate people ! " muttered the poet to himself, and he al- 
most wished that he, too, was dead. He certainly would have been 
relieved had the bore j ust then been gathered to his ancestors. As 
for the bore himself, he was in good health, neither a cough, nor 
gout, nor poison seemed likely to cause his demise. So Horace, 
evidently, was destined to be talked to death. 

" How do you stand with Maecenas ? " continued the bore. " I 
am sadly in need of money. Now if you would introduce me, I 
might be helpful to you as well as to myself." 

Very laughable were Horace's repeated attempts to rid himself 
of this chattering nuisance, in all of which he failed, until finally 
his salvation appeared in the shape of a man to whom the bore 
was in debt and who had instituted an action against him in the 
courts. 

" Coward, villain ! " yelled the man, pouncing upon the bore. 
" Why are you not in court to answer my claim ? " 

In the excitement caused by the arrest Horace disappeared, 
thankful to the gods for having saved him after all. 

This completes our survey of the Forum and the Sacra 
Via from the Capitol. The massive ruins on the extreme 
right piled against the side of the Palatine Hill belong to 
the palace of the Emperor Caligula, but we shall leave all 
consideration of buildings that have stood on this emi- 



BAS-RELIEFS. 227 

nence until we look at it from the Colosseum (Stereo- 
graph No. 32). 

Turn now to the Column of Phocas down on our left. 
You will remember that while in our former position 
(Stereograph No. 26) we pointed out two sculptured 
slabs of marble standing on edge a few feet north of the 
base of the Column of Phocas. Well, we are to stand 
next on the farther or northeast side of those pieces of 
marble and look back this way, but more to our right; 
that is, we shall then be looking up toward the front of 
these eight columns of the Temple of Saturn. On the 
map, this next position is given exactly by the number 28 
in a circle near the north side of the Forum, and the two 
lines that branch from it toward the left or southwest. 

28. Bas-reliefs {time of Trajan), Column of 
Phocas, and Columns of Temple of 
Saturn. 

We are indeed in the midst of the Roman Forum. 
What innumerable companies of people have been 
crowded within this area! What illustrious men have 
walked here glancing up at temples and columns as we do 
now ! Objects of antiquity lie all about us. Those pieces 
of sculptured marble, which looked rather insignificant 
from a distance, are, as we now see, not very small after 
all. 

But first let us get a definite sense of our location here, 
which we can easily do. Off to our left is the base of the 



2 28 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Column of Phocas, in front of us are the eight columns of 
the Temple of Saturn, and to the right we see the southern 
end of the Capitol, towering above us, the lower dark part 
of which belongs to the Tabularium. We can even see 
the window from which we have been looking, the first 
one from the corner on the second row from the top. The 
Arch of Septimius Severus must be only a few rods to 
our right, while the Colosseum and the Basilica of Con- 
stantine are behind us. From this point, in front of the 
Temple of Saturn, we can see the admirable effect of that 
temple's eight noble columns, worn and broken though 
some of them are. The building seen beyond those col- 
umns is the rear portion of the Caffarelli Palace, the resi- 
dence of the German ambassador, while to the left of that 
building, directly back of this Column of Phocas, is the 
famous Tarpeian Rock. We are near enough now to the 
Column of Phocas to see the effect of age upon it. The 
blocks of the pedestal are crumbling at the joints, and the 
whole monument speaks, as with a human tongue, of the 
ravages of the elements. The date of the erection of that 
monument, the early part of the seventh century, marks 
the beginning, practically, of the temporal power of the 
popes, which was founded by Gregory the Great. 

That which especially interests us here, however, are 
these two curious marble balustrades just in front of us, 
sculptured in relief on either side and surmounted by a 
finely carved cornice. 

You will notice that each balustrade is composed of sev- 
eral pieces of marble, all of which are more or less dam- 



BAS-RELIEFS. 229 

aged, and that some of these pieces are missing. They 
stand on a base of marble, which, in turn, rests upon a 
foundation of travertine. These reliefs were discovered 
in 1872, having been formerly built into the walls of a 
mediaeval tower. For a long time they were thought to be 
the balustrades of the Rostra, but this has been disputed 
by learned authorities, who declare that they appear to 
have always rested upon the pavement of the Forum with- 
out any other support than what they now have. For 
what purpose they were used no one is quite sure. It 
seems that they are of the time of Trajan and we ought to 
be able to get a clue as to their use from the figures carved 
upon them. On the farther one you will observe the ani- 
mals used in sacrifices — a wild boar, a ram and a bull; 
and on the other side of that same balustrade, Trajan is 
represented as making provision for destitute children. 
On the side toward us of the nearer balustrade, an official 
seems to be holding a sort of ballot-box into which citizens 
appear to deposit ballots as they pass ; and, on the opposite 
side, Trajan is represented as burning the bonds on his 
remission of the debts due the public treasury. In the 
background of this latter relief are reproduced the various 
buildings which formerly stood on the south side of the 
Forum. The Rostra appears on both of the marbles. 
Some think, from the presence of the sacrificial animals, 
that these marbles formed an approach to a temple or 
altar, and others, from the depositing of ballots and other 
public references, that they belonged to a polling place of 
the citizens. Whatever may have been their original use, 



230 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

they serve an important topographical purpose, since they 
represent the various buildings of the Forum as they stood 
in the time of Xrajan, thus throwing light upon the archi- 
tecture of many a structure in regard to whose existing 
ruins we would otherwise have no possible clue. 

But we must not tarry here now, for there awaits us 
one of the most surprising and valuable discoveries ever 
made in this vicinity. This result of recent excavations 
is found near the Basilica of Constantine. On the map we 
find the point to which we are to go, and our field of vision 
from that point, indicated by two lines which start from 
the number 29 in front of the Basilica of Constantine, and 
branch toward the left or northwest. 



29. Forum and Capitol from near the Basil- 
ica Constantine, showing Ancient Pave- 
ment of the Sacra Via, Excavated 1900. 

For long years many eminent archaeologists and re- 
nowned writers on Roman history have affirmed that the 
rough polygonal pavement which we saw running in front 
of the Basilica Julia, on the south side of the Forum, and 
which wound in and out among arches, temples and basil- 
icas on its course from the Capitol to the Arch of Titus, 
was the veritable pavement of the ancient Sacra Via, but 
during 1900, Signor Boni, one of the foremost archaeolo- 
gists of our time (following the direction of the sewer 
which runs in front of the Basilica Aemelia) carried 



A TIMELY VIEW OF SACRA VIA. 231 

the excavations deeper, and found, nearly six feet below 
the road which has for years been mistaken for the Sacra 
Via, extensive remains of the fine polygonal pavement of 
the true Sacra Via. *\t our feet, and stretching away be- 
fore us, we see this intensely interesting discovery. We 
can even see the carefully joined blocks of stone forming 
the pavement, and we can judge from the size of the em- 
bankments on either side, how much below the former 
pavement was the real one. No cultured man can look 
upon this pavement, pressed as portions of it have been 
by the feet of Vergil and Horace, Caesar and Cicero, Pliny 
and Pompey, and which, after a millennium and a half, the 
sun again shines on, and not feel a thrill of gladness 
blended with an emotion of surprise; and just as in the 
solar system there are heavenly bodies of surpassing mag- 
nitude of whose existence we are assured, that only sweep 
within the vision of men at an interval of thousands of 
years, proving anew the fact of their own being, so it 
would seem that by the sight of this sacred pavement, so 
long hidden away and which has again appeared to men, 
the mighty intellects, the brilliant geniuses, the magnetic 
personalities, that fell long since into human affairs, like 
a shower of stars of the first magnitude from God's great 
anvil of creation, have by this discovery again assumed a 
more tangible appearance, becoming real rather than 
mythical characters in human history. 

That we may better appreciate what the uncovering of 
this particular piece of pavement means, we should under- 
stand exactly our position. From the map we know that 



232 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the ruins of the Basilica of Constantine are directly to our 
right; the heavy mass of masonry near the limit of our 
vision on the right is part of its western wall. Just to the 
left of that mass of ruins is the vestibule of the Temple of 
Romulus, now the Church of S. S. Cosma Damiano, and a 
little farther away is the colonnaded front of the Church 
of S. Lorenzo. Between that church and the Arch of 
Severus you can see no trace of the embankment, which, 
when looking from the Capitol, we saw on that north side 
of the Forum. This is explained by the fact that then we 
were looking at the Roman Forum as it appeared in 1898, 
while now we are seeing it as it appeared in 1900, after 
part of that embankment had been excavated. The 
only thing of special importance brought to light by the 
excavations in that quarter is, as we have said, the Black 
Stone which was found a few feet this side of and to the 
right of the Arch of Severus. 

We can see one of the sculptured marbles near which 
we were standing last (Stereograph No. 28), in line with 
the left hand or southern side of the Severus Arch. The 
column of Phocas stands more to the left, nearly in line 
with two of the columns of the Vespasian Temple beyond, 
while the broken pillars standing more to the left, mark 
the course of the Sacra Via after early times. 

From where we now stand, we have by far our best 
view of the Capitol, and of the old wall of the Tabularium 
beneath, pierced with several window-like openings, 
though broken only by a single doorway. Formerly that 
wall was faced with a double row of Doric columns, one 



AN ANCIENT BOOK AGENT. 233 

above another, which must have added greatly to its ar- 
tistic effect. The columns on either side of the doorway 
are remains of this architectural establishment. 

As I contemplate that famous hill again, there comes to my 
mind the thought of the man who built the Temple of Jupiter 
there, Tarquinius Superbus, and that curious incident in his life 
which affected mightily the destinies of Rome. It must have spe- 
cial interest for all those engaged in the book trade, for it tells of 
the remarkable success of a book agent in that far distant age. 
It seems this ancient book agent was a woman, having the monop- 
oly of a certain edition of valuable books which she carried into 
the presence of the superb Tarquin and announced, rather 
brusquely, that she was ready for business and that her price for 
the set was three hundred pieces of gold. The King was busy and 
indifferent; at any rate, he thought the price was exorbitant. Find- 
ing him unapproachable, the woman, who happened to be a Sibyl, 
a sort of prophetess, turned to the fire glowing upon the hearth, 
for it happened to be a cold day, and deliberately threw three 
of the books into the flames, where they were soon reduced 
to ashes. A few days after she called again, having in her 
possession the remaining six books, for which she asked the 
original price, three hundred pieces of gold. Tarquin refused to 
buy them at that price ; whereupon three more were flung into the 
fire. Once again she called upon the King and, to his surprise, 
offered the last three remaining volumes of the set for the price 
asked for the nine, threatening that, if they were not purchased at 
this call, they would follow the other six into the flames. When 
the King heard this warning he became alarmed and sent for his 
wisest philosophers to come and examine the books, which they 
did, and declared they were well worth the price asked. 

So, out on that old hill, the King became possessor of the Sibyl- 
ine books, which contained a list of remedies for diseases, direc- 
tions for preparing sacrifices, prophecies relating to public affairs, 
and many other important matters. They were carefully put away 



234 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

in the Temple of Jupiter, which then stood on the south summit 
of the hill, where, centuries after, they became the rock on which 
the Republic split asunder under their skillful interpretation in 
his own interests by Julius Caesar. 

The large building whose roof forms the sky line, seen 
to the north of the Capitol and over the Arch of Severus, 
is the Church of Aracoeli, standing on the northern sum- 
mit of the Capitoline Hill. We spoke of that church, 
though we could not see it, when looking up the broad 
steps leading to the Capitol from the opposite side. The 
Castle of St. Angelo is hardly more than a mile beyond 
that church, on the other side of the Tiber, and St. Peter's 
must be standing not more than a mile and a half away, 
directly back of the Capitol. 

Behind us, but somewhat to our right, is the Church of 
S. Francesca, the site of the Temple of Venus and Rome, 
and the Colosseum, while only a few rods behind but more 
to the left, is the Arch of Titus. 

With a surer comprehension of our surroundings, we 
now come back to these long buried stones of the Sacra 
Via. Beyond the right hand embankment, near the ruins 
of the Basilica of Constantine, w r e see a place where the 
course of the Via was practically the same from the first 
years of the city to the last. 

Standing on this interesting spot, let us try to catch 
some echo of the voices that once resounded here, and 
get sight of some of the mighty events that took place on 
these very stones. Through the Arch of Titus back of us, 
and over this very pavement, rolled the dazzling splendor 



A ROMAN TRIUMPH. 235 

of many a Roman Triumph as it passed on to the Capitol 
yonder, like the continuous glow of a rainbow. We 
can almost hear the measured tread of those battle-scarred 
legions, whose footfalls echoed around the world. On 
either side of the Sacra Via marble structures were piled 
one above another, glistening like mountains of snowy 
whiteness in the yellow Italian sunlight. The countless 
porticoes of temples and palaces, every window front and 
every available space were covered with spectators all 
dressed in white, which added to the beauty of the scene. 
Wherever it was possible, stands or scaffolds were erected 
along this line of march so that the people might better 
see the unrivaled pomp of a pageant, such as the world 
will never see again. On the day of such a triumph, all 
the temples were open and decorated with garlands and 
filled with perfume. Streets and public buildings had 
been cleaned by thousands of slaves, and a force of mili- 
tary police kept the way clear for pedestrians. 

The first day was occupied by the carrying of statues 
and other gems of art taken from the enemy's country; 
all this was borne by countless slaves, the captives taken 
in battle. 

The second day, file after file of captives would come 
past here bearing the costliest and brightest armor, coats 
of mail, helmets and shields, all gleaming in sunlight, and 
which were taken from the enemy ; then followed another 
army of slaves bearing the silver and gold, the spoils of 
battle, consisting of cups, bowls, plates, urns, and jewelry, 



236 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

rings, bracelets, so arranged as to produce the most daz- 
zling effect. 

The third clay was the climax of all. First came the 
trumpeters in inimitable array, who blared the battle 
charge just as it is given on the eve of conflict, stirring 
the hearts and making the blood bound in the veins of the 
vast concourse of people. Next followed a band of young 
men clad in the purest white, save for the scarlet sash 
tied about their waists, who led for the sacrifices one hun- 
dred and twenty noble oxen with gilded horns and heads 
crowned with garlands and ribbons. These were followed 
by boys who carried gold and silver platters, and these 
again were followed by slaves who carried, in vessels on 
their shoulders, gold and silver coins. Xext came those 
who bore the consecrated bowl, weighing ten talents in 
gold and incrusted with precious stones. Then came the 
children and relatives of the captured king who wept 
piteously as they passed, and were it not that a Roman's 
heart was a heart of stone, they would have elicited the 
compassion of the spectators. After his children came 
the captured king, proud, yet heartbroken, with a sullen 
and defiant expression on his face. Behind him marched 
his defeated generals, whose grief, as was often evident, 
was more for their king's misfortune than for their own. 
Then followed, in a chariot covered with gold, the Roman 
conqueror, and when he appeared the very heavens seemed 
rent asunder with the thunderous applause of the spec- 
tators. After the triumphant general, came the victorious 



MATERIAL THINGS NOT THE MOST ESSENTIAL. 237 

army, with boughs of laurel in their hands and the Roman 
eagles gleaming above all the rest. 

When one has passed around the whole Forum and has 
become acquainted with the principal ruins, he finds his 
field of investigation has just begun to open out before 
him. He would certainly be disappointed with the result 
of his efforts if he stopped with the objects which are left 
here for the eye to see; but no man can stop with these 
material things. Every temple relic, every broken column 
and arch tells not only of a once complete structure of 
stone and marble, but they are eloquent and undeniable 
expressions of the thoughts and aspirations and triumphs 
that once existed in the lives of people of warm flesh and 
blood like ourselves. After having been able to stand in the 
same physical surroundings as did those stalwart Romans, 
after becoming familiar with the same hills and valleys, 
and looking upon some of the very structures that their 
minds conceived and their hands constructed, we find 
there is an endless charm for us in our efforts to pass on 
into their mental world, into their thoughts about each 
other, about the world, outside, about God. More and 
more the conviction steals into our hearts that no book of 
fiction could be more fascinating than the true account of 
these people's lives. How many ideas that are now being 
worked out in the world commenced to dawn upon the 
minds of men and women in this place, in those far-off 
times. In speaking of the slow discovery of the great 
truth of the unity of the human race, Goldwin Smith says : 



238 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

" First, perhaps, the greatness of the Roman character 
broke through the narrow exclusiveness of savage nation- 
ality by bending in its hour of conquest to the intellect of 
conquered Greece ; nobler in this than Greece herself, who 
with all her philosophy, talked to the last of Greek and 
barbarian, and could never see the man beneath the slave. 
First, perhaps, on the mind of the Roman stoic, the great 
idea of the community of man with its universal rights 
and duties distinctly though faintly dawned, and there- 
fore to the Roman stoic it was given to be the real author 
of Rome's greatest gift, the science of universal law. 
Christianity broke down far more thoroughly the barriers 
between nation and nation, between freeman and slave, 
for those who were within her pale." 

We cannot stop now to go into the life lived here, but 
we do know that he who passes but once through the 
Forum, so full of memories, must ever after look with 
deeper interest into any bit of literature, any book that 
tells of Rome's great past. 

All the time we have been standing here, the Colosseum 
has been looming up behind us. Now we will turn to- 
wards it. To determine this next position, definitely, we 
must consult the large general map of Rome, the map we 
are to use for all our subsequent positions in the city. 
The Colosseum is found on this map four or five inches to 
the right or east of the lower bend of the Tiber toward 
the east. Next to the Colosseum on the northwest we see 
the site of the Temple of Venus and Rome, and next to 
this site is the plan of the Basilica of Constantine, with 



THE ROMAN COLOSSEUM. 239 

that part of the Sacra Via near which we have been stand- 
ing, marked in front of it. The two red lines which start 
near the Arch of Titus, just south of the Temple of Venus 
and Rome and extend on either side of the Colosseum 
toward the east, show our next position and what will be 
our field of vision from that position. 

jo. A Mighty Monument to Heathen Brutal- 
ity and Christian Courage, The Colos- 
seum. 

Did you ever see anything grander than that almost in- 
comprehensible immensity, the Roman Colosseum ? I am 
sure I never did, and I have seen most of the world's 
greatest wonders. So vast is it that, as Juvenal says : 

" Which, in its public shows, unpeopled Rome, 
And held, uncrowded, nations in its womb." 

To my mind nothing can impart a more vivid impres- 
sion of the marvelous power and wealth of the ancient 
Romans than this mountainous yet beautiful ruin. Its gi- 
gantic proportions grow upon us when we remember that, 
for many centuries, its stones have been sold as from a 
common quarry, and built into palaces and churches, and 
even carried off to the ends of the world. 

That titanic structure was commenced A. D. J2, by 
the Emperor Vespasian, and was finished by his son Titus 
some years later, after the destruction of Jerusalem. It 
was at that time completely faced with marble four inches 
thick. Of the captive Jews brought from Palestine twelve 



240 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

thousand were employed upon this work. As you can see 
by looking at the exterior of the left-hand wall, which re- 
mains intact, the building consisted of four stories. Ex- 
amine it closely, and you may see that the first row of 
pilasters, between the arches, is of the Doric order, the 
second Ionic, and the two upper rows are Corinthian. 
The circumference of the Colosseum is one thousand 
seven hundred feet, its greatest length six hundred and 
twenty, and its width five hundred and twenty-six, while 
its height is one hundred and fifty seven feet. The en- 
trance for the Emperor was between the fifth and sixth 
lowest arches, counting from this end of the building, 
those without cornices and facing the Esquiline 
Hill. There was a similar entrance on the opposite 
side of the structure. The great blocks of stone which 
compose the amphitheatre were held firmly together by 
metal clasps. These were all dug out in the Middle Ages, 
when metal was very valuable, and, as a result, the build- 
ing is riddled with holes. We do not know who the archi- 
tect of the Colosseum was, but there is a legend founded 
upon an inscription to the effect that it was Gaudentius, a 
Christian, who afterward suffered martyrdom in this very 
structure. 

The amphitheatre is purely an invention of the Romans, 
the cultured Greeks possessing nothing like it. It was 
used for gladiatorial combats, fights between gladiators 
and wild beasts, and also for naval conflicts, the arena be- 
ing so constructed that it could be flooded with water. 
Subsequently the area within these walls was the scene of 



ROMAN SPORTS, 241 

terrible Christian martyrdom. Heroic men and saintly 
women and innocent children were torn to pieces by wild 
beasts, for no other crime than that they believed on the 
Lord Christ. 

The Romans reveled in sports of all kinds, but, unlike 
the more intellectual Greeks, their pastimes were charac- 
terized by an element of coarseness and brutality. Horse- 
racing, which had been imported from Greece, was popu- 
lar, but not until it had reached a degree of recklessness 
and cruelty which had never been witnessed in Athens. 
Not to be outdone in the good graces of the rabble, to 
whom Pompey had given a permanent theatre, Julius 
Caesar favored the people with a permanent circus — the 
Circus Maximus — especially adapted for chariot racing 
and situated in the valley between the Palatine and the 
Aventine, and which was one of the most magnificent 
buildings in Rome. On the map its location is given on 
the opposite or southern side of the Palatine Hill. 

In the days of Julius Caesar it was one thousand eight hun- 
dred and sixty feet long and six hundred and twenty feet wide; 
circular at one end and straight at the other. On the inner 
side of the straight end wall, the space was free, but the other 
three walls were lined with tiers of stone seats, except those near 
the top of the walls which were of wood. On great occasions, 
when the building was crowded to its utmost capacity, these 
wooden seats occasionally gave way, and, in the reign of Augus- 
tus, a thousand people were killed. As completed by Julius Caesar, 
the structure held one hundred and fifty thousand spectators. A 
canal, ten feet deep, separated the lowest tiers of seats from the 
course. Lengthwise, through the middle of the building, was a 



242 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

low, broad wall called the spine, whose summit was adorned with 
an obelisk and marble sculptures. At each end of the spine was a 
goal, marked by three small conical masses of gilt bronze, which 
formed the turning point for the races — chariot races, dog races, 
and athletic games of various sorts. This structure was the 
great hippodrome of Rome, but mortal combats, both of men and 
beasts, were reserved for the Colosseum. In the circus, men and 
women sat together, but in the Colosseum they were assigned to 
different parts of the building. In the latter structure 

" Rome showed so many maidens and so fair, 
All the world's beauty seemed collected there." 

Strange to say, the first introduction of gladiatorial exhibitions 
here in Rome was on the occasion of a funeral. They were given 
by Marcus and Decimus Brutus in memory of their father in B. C. 
264. They immediately secured the popular favor and it was not 
long before they became recognized as the Roman's principal pas- 
time. 

Besides the amusements offered by the Circus Maximus and the 
Colosseum — the races and the gladiators — there were various 
games in which the people indulged, chief among which were those 
resembling our billiards and dice. "Let them, ,, says old Cato, 
speaking of the gay and giddy set in Rome, "have their armor, 
their horses and their spears;, let them have their swimming 
matches and their races, so they do but leave us, among the numer- 
ous sports, the ' tali ' and the ' tesserae ' " (a kind of dice) ; but the 
aged were not allowed a monopoly of this game, as Juvenal as- 
sures us — 

"If gaming does an aged sire entice, 
Then my young master swiftly learns the vice, 
And shakes in hanging sleeves the little box and dice." 

The sight of this great centre of Roman life makes it interesting 
to think over again the way the average Roman spent a day at 
the close of the Republic and in the Imperial period. It was 



A DAY IN OLD ROME. ^43 

briefly as follows : The first two hours were taken up by clients 
who came to pay their respects. The next two hours ^were spent 
in attendance and in transacting personal business upon the law 
courts; at the fifth hour (our eleven o'clock) came the noonday 
lunch to which guests were never invited; and the sixth hour, 
with a part of the seventh, was a time of repose, in which the 
Romans enjoyed a noonday siesta; at the eighth hour (two P. 
M.), they repaired to the baths, after which, at the ninth hour 
(three o'clock), they went to supper, although the earlier Romans 
waited for this meal until sunset. Then from the tenth until the 
twelfth hour (four to six), they flocked to the theatre, to the 
Colosseum or the Circus Maximus, and, in the evening, the 
wealthier classes gave sumptuous feasts to which they invited 
their relatives and friends. Thus, generally speaking, a Roman 
spent almost his entire day in the Forum, the baths, the theatre, 
the Circus or the Colosseum. 

Titus celebrated the opening of the Colosseum with a display of 
unrivaled splendor. A battle of cranes with dwarfs followed bj 
gladiatorial combats in which women took part, although no noble 
matron was allowed to appear in the arena. Five thousand wild 
beasts were slaughtered, and water having been let into the arena 
a sea fight of terrible fierceness was witnessed. When all was 
over it is said that Titus sat down and burst into a fit of weeping, 
but this was probably due more to complete exhaustion resulting 
from his prolonged dissipation, than from sorrow at the remem- 
brance of the flood of brutality and butchery which he had oc- 
casioned. 

Hadrian gave an entertainment in the Colosseum on his 
birthday at which a thousand wild beasts were slaugh- 
tered, including two hundred lions. The arena was 
planted with living trees, shrubs and flowers, and from 
grottoes and yawning clefts of rocks came forth the wild 
beasts. In A. D. 181 the Emperor Commodus frequently 



244 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

fought in the arena himself, and killed gladiators and wild 
animals. Dressed in a lion's skin, his head sprinkled with 
gold-dust, he called himself Hercules. 

In A. D. 217, the amphitheatre was repeatedly struck 
by lightning and so severely damaged that it was aban- 
doned for the Circus Maximus for many years. It was 
restored in A. D. 223. In A. D. 240, Philippus celebrated 
here the millennium of the city with a series of entertain- 
ments, in the course of which thirty elephants, ten tigers, 
ten lions, thirty leopards, forty wild horses, one hippo- 
potamus, one rhinoceros, and tw T o thousand gladiators 
were slain. At another time, one hundred of the finest 
breed of African lions, half-starved, were let into the arena 
together; these were followed by one hundred lionesses, 
two hundred leopards and three hundred bears, and the 
thunderous roars that arose from this vast multitude of 
royal beasts fairly shook the massive walls of the structure 
as though they had been built of boards. Such an ap- 
palling and heart-rending slaughter was never before wit- 
nessed, and when, at last, the darknesss of night fell upon 
the awful scene, the arena was flooded with blood and 
thickly covered with a mass of quivering flesh. 

These gladiatorial and wild beast combats came to an 
end in a very tragic way. In A. D. 403, an Oriental monk- 
named Telemachus was so horrified at the spectacle he 
had been witnessing, that he leaped into the arena and 
besought the people with tears to abandon their fiendish 
brutality; the mighty multitude sprang to their feet and 
poured upon him an avalanche of derision, and before he 



THE COLOSSEUM BY MOONLIGHT. 245 

could leave the arena, they had stoned him to death ; but 
he had won the victory, for his was the last lifeless form 
ever dragged from that bloody arena as a sacrifice to the 
brutality of the Roman people. 

Viewing the structure from where we do, does it not 
seem a pity that such a monument of power and great- 
ness should have been blackened and defiled by the satanic 
cruelty of men. The Colosseum is at all times a striking 
object, but I think it especially so when the setting sun 
flings over it a flood of yellow light changing the somber 
walls and crumbling arches into gold ; or when the moon- 
light transforms the whole wondrous mass — walls, corri- 
dors, countless tiers of seats, and even the blood-soaked 
arena — into a titanic citadel of silver, calling up from out 
the deep shadows that lurk in obscure corners the dark 
phantoms of the past. I do not wonder that when Wal- 
pole, accompanied by the English poet Grey, visited the 
amphitheatre, he enthusiastically exclaimed : " I would 
buy the Colosseum if I could." 

We are about to pass beneath one of the eighty arches 
and enter that mountainous amphitheatre. Before we 
do so we must note several other objects of interest here. 
This block of Roman concrete, so close we can almost 
touch it, as well as most of the ruins near us on our right, 
are remains of the Turris Chartularia, a stronghold of the 
Frangipani family in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 
But beneath these more prominent ruins are ancient beds 
of concrete and huge blocks of peperino which belong to 
the Temple of Jupiter Stator, a temple vowed by Romulus 



246 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

during his first struggle with the Sabines in the valley of 
the Forum, and built by M. Atilius Regulus in 296 B. C. 
Of course the Arch of Titus is only a few rods off to 
our left, beyond the limit of our vision, and the road be- 
fore us with a modern pavement follows the course of the 
Sacra Via between the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum. 
The small conical structure of stone, in a circular grass 
plot near the Colosseum, is the remains of an ancient 
fountain, the Meta Sudans. Beyond the Colosseum, to 
the left, is the Esquiline ; and the ruins upon it belong to 
the Baths of Titus. 

We are to take our next position within the Colosseum 
near the level of the arena, on the side to our right, and 
look up toward the side on our left which still towers to 
its full height. We can see from here a small section of 
the inner side of that highest left-hand wall, and near the 
top you notice a white patch of wall immediately over a 
dark opening for a window. That will be above us and to 
our left, when we stand within the Colosseum. On the 
map, this new position is given by the lines which branch 
within the Colosseum extending from the southern to the 
northern side. 

31. Stupendous Interior of the Colosseum. 
Dens beneath the Arena and Sweep of Ar- 
cades where Fifty Thousand People Sat. 

There, lifted high above us, directly over the second 
from the left of the highest row of windows is the smooth 



THE INTERIOR OF THE COLOSSEUM. 247 

white section of wall which we saw when looking from 
near the Arch of Titus. Thus we can see, then, that we 
are looking to the amphitheatre's northern side. The 
road seen through the arcades on the right is on the Es- 
quiline Hill. 

The arena itself rested upon those broken upright walls 
which you behold at our very feet. Besides acting as a 
support for the arena, these walls were used to divide the 
space beneath into subterranean stalls or dens for beasts, 
and the remains of the vaulted doorways may be seen in 
them. Just beyond the modern railing are the remains of 
the wall surrounding the arena, a wall high enough to 
protect the spectators from infuriated wild beasts. The 
foremost seats just above that wall or railing of the arena 
were called the " podium " and were reserved as places of 
honor for the Emperor, the Vestal Virgins and the sena- 
tors, also foreign ambassadors. Above those, as you no- 
tice, are three divisions of seats, the first of which, being 
nearest the " podium," belong to knights, and have four- 
teen rows. Above this was the row for the citizens, and 
the topmost row was reserved for the common people. 
Entrances and staircases were so constructed that each 
person could gain his seat without trouble or confusion. 
On the roof of the colonnade, near the summit of the wall, 
were stationed sailors belonging to the imperial fleet 
whose duty it was to stretch a sail cloth over the vast en- 
closure for the purpose of excluding the rays of the sun. 

The number of people who could range themselves 
about these walls has been variously estimated at from 



248 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

fifty to one hundred thousand, but probably the smaller 
figure is nearer correct. 

The first Christian to suffer martyrdom here for his 
faith was St. Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John. It 
was in this arena that he cried, as the lions were let loose, 
%t I am the grain of the field and must needs be ground by 
the teeth of lions to become as bread fit for the Master's 
table." His martyrdom was followed soon afterward by 
that of one hundred and fifty Christians, who were pierced 
through with arrows. The list of those who perished here 
for their faith is an appalling one. 

Once, when I was in the Colosseum, the excavations of 
the debris between the walls beneath the arena (for cen- 
turies this was the dumping-ground as well as the quarry 
of Rome) were not quite completed. As it was the noon 
hour, and the laborers had gone to their midday meal, I 
tumbled down one of the embankments and, digging un- 
der the dirt, dislodged a Roman tile that had certainly not 
seen the light of day for more than a thousand years. It 
was foot-worn and hoof-dented and stained almost black 
with blood, but I treasure it among my souvenirs of 
Rome, and I do not find it difficult, when I hold it in my 
hand and gaze upon this scene, to repeople again these 
vacant spaces and imagine the arena filled once more with 
ferocious beasts and still more ferocious men, and hear 
that strange hush out from which steals a low murmur, 
and then the hoarse shouts of the vast multitude occupy- 
ing seats tier above tier upon these arches, while, now 



IN TURBULENT DAYS. 249 

and then, above all this mighty roar and confusion rise 
the piercing cries of the struggling and the dying. 

Surely Benavenuto Cellini could not have selected a 
more suitable place of rendezvous when he invited his 
companions in necromancy to assemble at midnight among 
these ruins. In such a place, with its weird, quivering 
shadows and everywhere a shivering gloom, it would not 
be a difficult task to call up spirits, if one had any imag- 
ination at all. 

We are not surprised that, in the turbulent days of 
mediaeval Rome, this Colosseum was transformed into a 
giant fortress and, later on, Italian banditti found a safe 
hiding-place within these walls ; and, to-day, the Romans 
have a strange superstition about this king of ruins. They 
say that, in sunlight, all is silence and calm, and on starlit 
nights these continue; but, when the night is dark, and 
wildest storms beat down upon the ruin, and gales ot 
wind howl through its crumbling arches and empty gal- 
leries, then the mighty monument, like a reanimated mon- 
ster, becomes itself again; the old scenes are re-enacted, 
and those who once sat upon these benches and long since 
left the world, occupy them again, and above the screech- 
ing of the gale, their voices ring out in mad, delirious 
cries. 

We are told that the Colosseum is crumbling away an 
inch a year, and in this it seems to have a kinship to the 
whole creation, and even to the very Alps themselves. 
Perhaps the prophecy of the Anglo-Saxon pilgrim may 
yet prove true : 



25© ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

"While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand; 
When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall, 
x\nd when Rome falls, the world." 

Nevertheless, as we look upon it, we can but be con- 
scious of its dark and troubled past, which would cause 
us to exclaim with Dickens, as our eyes wander over the 
structure, " God be thanked ; a ruin !" 

A few feet below that highest row of windows, and to 
our left, you will see a short section of modern railing 
similar to that which we see below us surrounding the 
arena. We shall climb now to that point and look to the 
Palatine Hill behind us and to our left. Our field of 
vision from that point is given on the map by the lines, 
with the number 32 attached, which branch from the 
northern side of the Colosseum toward the southwest. 



32. Palatine Hill from the Colosseum. 

Here we have a near view of the upper galleries of the 
Colosseum, and over its dismantled walls we see the villas, 
gardens and the ruins of the Palatine. Doubtless we are 
surprised as we gaze at the great amphitheatre to find that 
many parts of it are still in excellent repair. These few 
perfect arches and doorways and this level circular walk 
in front of them, help us to form a better idea of the ap- 
pearance of the whole structure in its finished state. Ob- 
serve that the gallery way, with its stone copings beneath 
us, appears as cleanly swept as a parlor floor. How many 
thousands of feet have thronged that circular aisle! It 



THE GARDENS OF ADONIS. 251 

seems to have been the first landing place above the street, 
and from it stairways led to this second landing beneath 
us on our right. Just before us, along this upper gallery, 
is the western end of the highest remaining part of the 
wail, the part we saw so well from our stand near the 
Arch of Titus (Stereograph No. 30). No matter where 
we stand, though, it is difficult for us to realize that two- 
thirds of the Colosseum have been taken away, and yet the 
material that remains is estimated to be worth two and a 
half millions of dollars. 

The Romans themselves have a proverb referring to the 
ruins of the city, " What the barbarians spared, the Bar- 
barini sacked," and this is of nothing more true than of 
the Colosseum. Over the dismantled walls, then, we see 
the main portion of the Palatine, the oldest and most aris- 
tocratic of Rome's hills. There is a good road which 
leads up the hill around to our left on the southeastern 
side, but I like best the unfrequented path which starts 
from the Arch of Titus, beyond this wall on our right, 
and skirting those nearest grass-crowned walls ascends by 
that solitary palm-tree and is lost in an entanglement of 
undisturbed ruins beyond. Few tourists enter the lonely 
seclusion of that path or are aware of its historic interest, 
for it crosses the site of the once famous Gardens of 
Adonis, where St. Sebastian, one of the early Christian 
heroes, represented in many beautiful and immortal paint- 
ings as a handsome youth bound to a tree and pierced with 
arrows, suffered martyrdom. 

Such events, of course, only take us back to the first 



252 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

centuries of the Christian era. The buildings we see 
there, for instance, belong to the church and convent of 
S. Bonaventura, though they are built upon a portion of 
the ancient Palace of Nero. It is said that the Cardinal 
and Bishop of Abana, in honor of whom those buildings 
are named, was restored from a deadly disease by the 
prayers of St. Francis of Assisi, and was so rejoiced when 
he found himself recovered, that he exclaimed, " O Buona 
Ventura " — what a happy chance ! and by this name he 
became known. 

But it is the events of earlier times for which that hill 
is especially famed. It was there, we remember, accord- 
ing to the legend, that the wolf suckled the twin sons of 
Mars and Rhea Sylvia, and there they were nurtured by 
the shepherd Faustulus. There also was the site of the 
ancient city of Romulus, which he founded when the 
auspices or auguries, from which we get our word inaugu- 
ration, were favorable, far back in the dim and bewilder- 
ing past. Having decided upon the site of his city he 
harnessed to a plow a heifer and a bull without blemish 
and made a furrow to define its limits. He lifted the plow 
over the places where he intended to have gates. Portions 
of the wall then built are still remaining on the west or 
farther side of the hill. Standing where we do, with the 
famous elevation so near at hand, it is vastly easier for us 
to recall its soul-stirring past. There is not another record 
in human history of so rapid and splendid a growth of a 
single city, from its first settlement on that hillside by 
shepherds until it became the proud mistress of the world. 



NOTED RESIDENTS OF THE PALATINE. 253, 

From the foundation of the city to the early Empire 
little is definitely known about the history of the Palatine. 
During the time of Tarquinius Priscus, 616-578 B. C, it 
was still honored by the kingly residence. " Toward the 
end of the republic it had become one of the 
most aristocratic quarters of the city. The great 
orators, lawyers and political men of the age re- 
sorted to this hill on account of its proximity 
to the Forum, the Curia and the Rostra." There are 
records to show that the most palatial residences of the 
time were here. " M. Fulvius Flaccus built a palace which 
was destroyed by the order of the Senate after his execu- 
tion for joining in the conspiracy of the Gracchi. Q. Lu- 
tatius Catulus, consul with Marius B. C. 102, with whom 
he gained a victory over the Cimbri, filled his house with 
the spoils of war. M. Livius, tribune of the plebeians in 
B. C. 91, and Crassus, the orator, came here to live. Cice- 
ro paid a sum equal to one hundred and fifty-five thou- 
sand dollars for his home in 62 A. D. M. iEmilius 
Scaurus, a stepson of Sulla, is said to have had the richest 
house on the Palatine, for which, according to report, 
Clodius afterwards paid four million four hundred and 
twenty-five thousand dollars. Most of these structures 
stood on the corner of the hill nearest the Forum, and 
must have been cleared away to give place to the later 
Palace of Caligula " (Lanciani). The homes of such men 
as Quintus Hortensius, of immense wealth, and L. Ser- 
gius Catilina, stood on this edge nearest us. 

After the beginning of the Empire all others had to 



•254 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

give way to the Emperors. Augustus selected the Pala- 
tine for the imperial residence and built his palace on the 
southern corner, the part of the hill seen on our extreme 
left, now called the Villa Mills, as the map shows. We 
are told by Suetonius that this Emperor occupied the same 
bedroom in that palace for forty years. It was at the gate 
of the same mansion that Augustus sat one day each year 
receiving alms from all who passed by, in conformity with 
a vision that he should in that way appease the gods. Sub- 
sequently, he erected, near his palace, a magnificent tem- 
ple to Apollo, also a library for the preservation of Greek 
and Latin manuscripts. 

Though there is scarcely any trace of it now, something 
of a valley crossed the Palatine from the Arch of Titus on 
the north to the Circus Maximus on the south, dividing 
the top into two summits. Most of what we see belonged 
to the southeast summit, or Palatium ; the northwest sum- 
mit, or Cermalus, lies mainly to our right toward the Cap- 
itol. 

The buildings of Augustus served in a way as a corner- 
stone from which others were erected until the palaces of 
the Caesars covered nearly the whole hill. Tiberius Caesar 
built his palace in the centre of the northwestern summit, 
the Cermalus, and connected it with that of Augustus by 
underground passages. Caligula built an extension to 
the house of Tiberius, which covered the remainder of the 
northwestern summit, reaching, as we have seen, almost 
to the Forum. Nero located his Golden House on the 
southeastern corner — this corner of the hill nearest us — 



THE HILL OF PALACES. 255 

though the grounds for his house reached from the Pala- 
tine to the Esquiline Hill, behind us. After the death of 
Nero, Domitian utilized the site of the Golden House for 
the Gardens of Adonis. 

The three Flavian Emperors, Vespasian, Titus and Do- 
mitian, occupied themselves mainly in uniting the palaces 
of their predecessors by raising intervening structures, 
though the Palace of Augustus was rebuilt under Titus. 
The successors of these emperors for a hundred years 
did little more than keep the existing buildings in repair. 
But Septimius Severus not only repaired the great dam- 
ages of the fire of Commodus in 191 A. D., but also put 
up an immense range of buildings on the southern edge of 
the Palatine, which considerably changed the shape of the 
hill. 

Those who seek to-day among the ruins of the Pala- 
tine have great difficulty in tracing the foundations of the 
individual buildings. This is due to the fact that in order 
to find room, one emperor sometimes built upon the struc- 
tures reared by his predecessors. For instance, Vespasian 
filled up many of the chambers of the Palace of Augustus 
with dirt in order to make a sufficient foundation for his 
own. And to-day, this dirt having been partly removed, 
you can inspect the remains of the Palace of Vespasian, 
then descend into that of Augustus. 

Near the Palace of Vespasian, in the centre of the hill, 
was the basilica, or state apartments, in which the emper- 
ors tried the cases which came before them on appeal, and 
there, in that low court on this Palatine Hill, the Apostle 



256 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Paul appeared before Nero. Fragments of the basilica 
have been found and a portion of the marble chair in 
which the emperors sat and the dais on which the prison- 
ers stood while their cases were being tried. Usually the 
emperors did not live in these palaces, but in villas beyond 
the limits of the city. They came here to the palace in the 
morning, attended to whatever royal business properly 
came before them and left early in the afternoon for their 
country homes in the suburbs. 

In these modern times it is difficult for us to realize the 
scenes that were enacted on this hill under some of the 
emperors, the heads of the Roman world. Take the Pal- 
ace of Caligula, the ruins of which we saw on our extreme 
right when looking from the Capitol (Stereograph No. 
27), and which lie here beyond the limit of our vision on 
the left. In those once gorgeous apartments the mad 
Caligula was wont to rush about, dressed in grotesque 
costume, appalling his subservient attendants by his wild 
fancies and cruel pranks. Once, at midnight, he sum- 
moned to the place a dozen of the leading senators, who, 
not daring to disregard his commands, came with fear and 
trembling. When they reached the palace, Caligula kept 
them waiting for an hour in one of the spacious rooms, 
and then dismissed them without ceremony, laughing bois- 
terously as he watched them hastily make their way along 
the marble corridor to the exit of the palace. 

In one year this crazy Emperor squandered twenty- 
seven millions of sesterces. One of his wives, Lollia, pos- 



CALIGULA. 257 

sessed the most magnificent set of jewelry ever owned by 
a Roman lady, and of her Johnson writes : 

" She came in like starlight, hid with jewels 
That were the spoil of provinces." 

But her beauty was more dazzling than her gems, and 
ofttimes Caligula would stroke her swan-like throat and 
hiss fiendishly : 

" When I get ready, this lovely throat will be hacked 
through." 

It was in a vaulted passage which led from the palace 
to the theatre that Caligula was murdered by the tribune 
Chaerea. No sooner was the news of the tragedy known, 
than the soldiers of the Praetorian guard, whose camp 
was at the foot of the Palatine, rushed into the palace and 
began to rifle it of its treasures. In one of the chambers 
they encountered Claudius, the uncle of Caligula, who 
flung himself at their feet supplicating for mercy. In their 
savage humor, more in jest than otherwise, they hailed him 
as Imperator, which he actually became. Later it was, 
in that very palace, that Claudius ate the supper of pois- 
oned mushrooms prepared by his wife, Agrippina, the 
mother of Nero, which caused his death. Life to Claudius 
was largely a matter of eating and drinking, and yet, glut- 
ton as he was, he possessed a strong sense of justice and a 
streak of subtle humor. Once when he was trying a case 
in the Palatine basilica, a suitor made an apology for the 
absence of one of his witnesses, saying that the man was 
dead. " I command him not to appear, then," said the 
Emperor dryly. 



258 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

We cannot stop to speak of the grandeur of the many 
palaces that once crowned this eminence with splendor, 
but we will pause to think of Nero's Golden House, the 
most remarkable of them all. As we have said, this house 
with its grounds extended from the eastern side of the 
Palatine in front of us, to the Esquiline Hill behind us, 
covering territory one mile square. In nothing was Nero 
more extravagant than in his building operations, and in 
carrying out his ideas he seemed to let nothing stand in his 
way. Not finding room for the vast structure whose 
erection he contemplated, he is said to have caused the 
burning of Rome, which he then charged against the 
Christians, on account of which accusations many of them 
were apprehended and smeared with pitch and set up at 
night in his gardens as ghastly torches. This conflagra- 
tion gave him what he so much needed — room for his 
Golden House and its magnificent park. In this park he 
constructed artificial waterfalls, which necessitated the 
building of aqueducts fifty miles long, artificial lakes upon 
which floated the royal galleys, while surrounding these 
were extensive vineyards and woods which abounded 
in choice game. The house itself had a colon- 
nade one mile long, and this portico . was so 
lofty that beneath it stood a colossal statue of the 
Emperor one hundred feet high. The other dimensions of 
the palace were on the same scale. Some of the walls of 
this monstrous dream of splendor were incrusted with 
gold inlaid with jewels and mother-of-pearl; others were 
covered with mirrors that reflected the entire apartment 



NERO S GOLDEN HOUSE. 259 

The triclinia, or banqueting-rooms, had vaulted ceilings 
which were so constructed as to be movable, being changed 
for each portion of the feast and reflecting the course of 
the dinner which happened to be on the table; thus fish 
were seen swimming in the sea, game flying in the air, cat- 
tle browsing in the fields, and fruits of every description 
hanging in golden sunshine. The ceilings, with every 
transformation, scattered flowers and rained down per- 
fume upon the guests. Such novel and luxuriant appoint- 
ments were common to all the dining-rooms in the palace, 
but, in addition to these, the ceiling of the state dining- 
room was circular in form, and revolved continually in 
imitation of the celestial bodies. The bath-rooms were 
visions of elegance, being faced with rarest marbles, and 
the basins were of variegated stone. The faucets, from 
which the water flowed, were of silver and gold, water be- 
ing brought in aqueducts from the Mediterranean for the 
salt-water baths, and the sulphur baths were supplied 
from springs along the Tiber. " Now I am lodged as a 
Caesar should be ! " Nero exclaimed, when he took posses- 
sion of this palace, which had cost him more than twenty 
millions of dollars. 

Taking it all in all the Palatine, even now, is a pictur- 
esque hill, rising as it does one hundred feet high at its 
crest and being a mile in circumference at its base. Its 
grassy slopes as early as March are carpeted with a pro- 
fusion of brilliant wild flowers. It is now completely in- 
closed and is entered through a gateway where an admis- 
sion of twenty cents is charged. 



260 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

The hill seen in the distance beyond the Palatine is the 
Janiculum, and, as we know, the Sacra Via, the Forum 
and Capitol lie off to our right. To look in that direction 
we will move from the northern to the extreme southern 
side of the Colosseum, a point on the ruins farther to the 
left than we can now see. This next position is given on 
the map by the two lines which start from the southern 
side of the Colosseum and extend slightly nortK of west. 

33. The Sacra Via, over which Rome's Tri- 
umphal Pageants passed, west from the 
Colosseum. 

Ah ! This is an interesting prospect. From whatever 
side you look, this old-time centre of mighty power is en- 
trancing. Down on our left is the Arch of Constantine, 
and beyond that is the Palatine Hill; the Sacra Via 
stretches away before us beneath the beautiful Arch of 
Titus; still farther is the Forum, and in the distance, to 
the right, is the tower-crowned Capitol. 

One might think from those common rail fences below 
us that this was merely some country village green, but 
how different from rustic seclusion has been its past. That 
bee-hive shaped structure in front of the Arch of Constan- 
tine is the same that we saw some time ago when we were 
looking this way from among those ruins to the left of the 
Arch of Titus (Stereograph No. 30). As we then stated 
it is the remains of a fountain, called " Meta Sudans " or 
" sweating goal," so named, as many suppose, because of 



THE SWEATING GOAL. 26 1 

its perpetual issue of foaming water, as though the foun- 
tain were sweating; and "Meta" (Goal), from its re- 
sembling in shape the goal in the circus. The name 
" sweating goal " has added significance from the fact that 
it was right out there that the gladiators used to bathe 
after their conflicts in the Colosseum, on which we are 
standing. It is said that these fighters were always sur- 
rounded by admiring crowds, their broad ox-like shoulders 
being stroked patronizingly by the soft, lily-white hands 
of effeminate patricians, who gathered about the fountain, 
offering wagers on the next combat. There, too, when 
the show in the amphitheatre was over, the crowds of 
spectators collected to refresh themselves from its plenti- 
ful supply of water. 

Some hold that the fountain is of very ancient origin, 
being restored by Domitian in A. D. 97. And the philoso- 
pher Seneca, who died A. D. 65, mentions the space about 
the fountain as the place where people, without considera- 
tion for their neighbors, would come and try new bugles 
and flutes and make other unbearable noises. " The 
round basin which supports the railing dates from the time 
of Constantine." 

The memories of the past continually crowd upon us 
in this place. What masses of people have flocked to this 
Colosseum over the ground before us ! What people of 
note — Emperors, Vestal Virgins and Senators — have trav- 
elled this way beneath the Arch of Titus ! Then we are to 
remember that the great Appian Road, or its continuation 
within the city, the Via Triumphalis, ended at this foun- 



262 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

tain, coming up on our left through the Arch of Constan- 
tine. The road was there many centuries before the Arch 
was built. 

The first section of that road was constructed in 312 
B. C. as far as Capua, and later it was extended to Brun- 
dusium at the southern end of Italy, a distance of about 
three hundred and fifty miles. It was the main thorough- 
fare from southern Italy, Greece and the farthest Eastern 
possessions of the Roman Empire. We might stand here 
for days recalling the notable people and resplendent pro- 
cessions that have passed over that road. Every Roman 
triumph and every Roman conqueror has passed here on 
his way to the Capitol and the Temple of Jupiter. 

One of the best points from which to look at the Arcli 
of Constantine is on the opposite or southern side, near 
the Palatine Hill. We are to go to that point now and 
look back toward this space in front of us. We may find 
our exact location by consulting the map and finding the 
two red lines, with the number 34, which extend from the 
southern side of the Arch toward the northeast. 



34. The Triumphal Arch oi Constantine. 

Can you imagine anything more elegant or artistic? 
The testimony of all beholders of this arch has been that 
they were fascinated by its beauty and by the strength and 
harmony of its proportions. While the Arch of Titus is 
conceded by experts to be the most perfect in existence, to 



THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE. 263 

the ordinary beholder this is by far the most attractive. 
It has stood here for nearly sixteen centuries, having been 
erected in A. D. 315, to commemorate the victory of the 
first Christian Emperor, Constantine, over his rival Max- 
entius. The bas-reliefs of the attic representing the 
Dacian Kings, the eight medallions or circular sculptures 
above the side arches, the eight fluted Corinthian columns 
and the greater part of the entablature, were taken from 
the triumphal Arch of Trajan, which spanned the Appian 
Way near the Porta Capena. The bas-reliefs which you 
see on the inside of the middle passage are said to belong 
to the reign of Gordianus, the Younger. " The inside of 
the arch is a conglomerate, being built with a great variety 
of materials belonging to monuments of the Fabii and 
Arruntii, the carvings on which are well-nigh perfect. 
Under the medallions and just above the side arches are 
bas-reliefs which refer to the conquests of Constantine, but 
they are crude and ill-designed. Pope Clement VIII, act- 
ing doubtless upon the principle that one good turn de- 
serves another, carried off one of the eight Corinthian col- 
umns to finish a chapel in the Church of St. John Lateran." 
(Lanciani). 

Because of its striking effect and great beauty, so ar- 
ranged as to give to the beholder an impression of victory, 
this arch has always been a favorite subject for painters, 
and it appears as a background in many famous paintings, 
notably by Pinturicchio and Botticelli. 

This family group before us aids in bringing out the 
magnificent proportions of the arch and suggests, at least, 



264 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

the thought that the people of Italy, just now, are more in 
need of the industrial victories of peace than they are of 
these ancient and resplendent monuments of war. 

To the right of the fair proportions of this arch we see 
the monstrous Colosseum again. In their pristine glory 
these two structures must have formed a most splendid 
and impressive approach to the Forum and Capitol. 
Through and beyond the arch to the left is the Esquiline 
Hill, and through the smaller opening on the left we see 
part of the fence surrounding the fountain, Meta Sudans. 

This finishes our sight-seeing about the great heart of 
the ancient city, the Forum with the Capitoline and Pala- 
tine Hills and the Colosseum. We pass now to the places 
of special interest more widely separated. First, we shall 
go to what is, after the Colosseum, without doubt, the 
most stupendous ruin in Rome, the Baths of Caracalla. 
The plan of these baths on the map shows that we are to 
go over a half mile south of the Colosseum. According to 
this map plan, we are to see part of the ruins of the north- 
west peristyle. 



35. The Magnificent Baths of Caracalla, 
Rains of the Peristyle. 

These baths were begun in 212 A. D, by Caracalla, en- 
larged by Heliogabalus and completed by Alexander Sev- 
erus. They are, unquestionably, in many respects, the 
most superb ruin in Rome, suggesting, as they do, the un- 



THE BATHS OF CARACALLA. 265 

rivaled splendor of the ancient Roman baths, to which 
there is nothing similar in the world to-day. It is well that 
we can see a part of this magnificent structure even though 
it be in ruins, for it would be impossible, by any power of 
language, to give one an adequate impression of " those 
gigantic walls and noble arches whose summits share with 
the mountain peaks the first rays of the morning sun/* 
So massive are they that they look as though they might 
have been built by a race of giants who lived in the pri- 
meval age. 

The artistic embellishment of these baths must have 
been unparalleled, adorned as they were with the finest 
works of art. Numerous statues of the highest merit, in- 
cluding the Farnese Bull, Hercules, and Flora at Naples, 
and which we are to see ourselves in the latter city after a 
time, were found here. 

This building was rectangular in form and surrounded 
by an outer wall. The grounds within this wall were 
eleven hundred feet long and about the same in width. 
In the centre was the bath proper, and in the court sur- 
rounding the places for gymnastic exercise were porti- 
coes, which w r ere used as a meeting-place 'for literary men, 
who here read their essays and poems and carried on philo- 
sophical debates. Athletes here gave exhibitions of 
strength and skill, and musicians charmed the assembled 
citizens by their brilliant efforts. Sixteen hundred people 
could bathe in this establishment at once, and sixty thou- 
sand bathers could be accommodated, at any hour of the 
day, at all the public baths in Rome. 



266 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

The arches seen over the stern and jagged wall in front 
of us — a wall the thickness of which cannot be approached 
by any feudal castle however massive, and whose pro- 
digious dimensions are brought out clearly by contrast 
with the people you see — belong to the portico of the build- 
ing. The vast hall in which we are standing and which is 
so riclily paved with mosaics, was a peristyle or social 
salon. Out through those doors beyond this spacious 
chamber are three others : the frigidarium or cold room, 
which had the largest flat ceiling in the world; the tepi- 
darium or warm room, and the caldarium or hot chamber. 
Beyond those rooms is a hall similar to the one we are 
viewing and also called the peristyle. 

The bather, when about to take a bath, first entered the 
tepidarium, which was moderately heated. When he be- 
gan to perspire freely, he removed his garments, handing 
them over into the charge of slaves, who put them in lock- 
ers arranged for the purpose, or he might have removed 
his garments in the apodyterium before entering the warm 
room. Then he entered the caldarium, which was pro- 
vided with numerous warm baths and marble slabs upon 
which the bathers reclined. Having lingered in that room 
until the perspiration flowed copiously, he might pass on 
to the laconicum, or sweating room, which was a circula r 
chamber for sweating in dry air. The walls of these hot 
rooms were hollow and filled with hot air, which was con- 
stantly kept in circulation. The laconicum had a vaulted 
ceiling with an opening at the top which could be closed at 
pleasure, regulating the heat of the room. Encircling the 



LUXURY OF A ROMAN BATH. 267 

walls of this chamber were marble steps which rose nearly 
to the ceiling, the topmost row being supplied with niches 
containing armchairs, and the bathers ascended these 
steps and sat in these chairs if they desired a still 
higher temperature. The bather then returned to the cal- 
darium for a plunge into the warm bath, the alveus ; then 
he re-entered the tepidarium, where slaves rubbed and 
scraped his skin most vigorously, after which he went to 
the frigidarium where he took his final plunge into the 
baptisterium, a large basin sunk in the marble floor. Then 
returning once more to the tepidarium, he was thoroughly 
rubbed with oil, wiped with fine towels, and perfumed; 
after which he re-entered one of the peristyles to recline 
upon luxuriant couches, to converse or to listen, to sleep 
or to dream, as suited his pleasure. We can well imagine 
the voluptuous fascination of such a bath and the delight- 
ful and refreshing repose by which it was followed. It is 
not surprising that the old Romans so often spoke of leav- 
ing the palatial appointments of the Baths of Caracalla 
buoyed up by the most exquisite sensations and seemingly 
treading on air rather than walking on the hard stony 
pavement of the city streets. 

These ruins of the Baths of Caracalla were a favorite re- 
sort of the poet Shelley ; he loved to stroll " among the 
flowery glades and thickets of odoriferous blossoming 
trees, which are extended in ever-winding labyrinths upon 
its immense platforms and dizzy arches suspended in the 
air." All this is changed now; the* trees have been up- 
rooted, the wild flowers have been swept away, the moss 



268 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

and the lichen have been removed, and this beautiful mo- 
saic floor, as we see it, and these frescoed walls glow- 
ing with figures of nymphs, sea-monsters and tritons have 
taken their places. " This poem," writes Shelley in his 
preface to " Prometheus Unbound," " was chiefly written 
upon the mountainous ruins of the Baths of Caracalla." 

Turning north again past the Colosseum and the Roman 
Forum, we go now to the Forum of Trajan. On the map 
we find Trajan's Forum a short distance to the north of 
the Capitoline Hill. The two red lines found there show 
that we are to look slightly north of west. 



36. Trajan's Forum and Column. 

This Forum, which measured about three hundred feet 
in length and about three hundred and eighty feet in 
width, was designed by Apollodorus, the celebrated archi- 
tect of Damascus, in A. D. 114. It contained a group of 
buildings famous for their architectural splendor, and 
while not as historic as the Roman Forum, it became the 
most magnificent forum in Rome. Its construction was 
part of a great scheme for relieving the overcrowding of 
the old Forum, a movement which caused the erection of 
the Fora of Julius, Augustus and Nerva, all of which 
were needed to accommodate the ever-increasing political, 
judicial and commercial transactions during the early 
years of the Empire. * 

It will repay us to give that Column of Trajan our undi- 



THE COLUMN OF TRAJAN. 269 

vided attention and even our closest study, for, when we 
look upon it, we have the satisfaction of knowing that in 
all the world there does not exist a column of its kind that 
rivals it. So perfect are the figures carved upon it, repre- 
senting as they do the campaigns of Trajan, that artists 
from Michelangelo to the present day have found them a 
source of education and inspiration. Here are illustrated 
the weapons, the engines of war and the dwellings of the 
barbarians; besides ships, horses, women, priests, and a 
battle which is being waged with deadly effect. 

The column, which rests upon a sculptured pedestal, is 
of purest Carrara marble, and is one hundred and twenty- 
eight feet from the pavement. The pedestal itself is eight- 
een feet high. The shaft measures twelve feet in diameter 
at the bottom, but is only ten feet at the capital. It is not, 
as you may well imagine, a single block of stone, but it' 
is composed of thirty-four separate blocks, each of which 
is hollow and so accurately executed and placed, that a 
spiral staircase, consisting of one hundred and eighty-four 
steps, is cut in the shaft itself, and runs from the base to 
the summit. You can see the entrance door to this stair- 
case in the pedestal. On the outside, running parallel 
with these stairs, is a broad marble band, three feet wide 
at the bottom and nearly four at the top, showing more 
than two thousand five hundred figures sculptured in 
bas-reliefs. 

The whole of this column was originally covered with 
gold and brilliant colors — crimson, blue, and yellow — and 
each of the carved figures was colored in realistic fashion. 



270 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

The noble shaft, gleaming with gold and gorgeous colors, 
must have dazzled the eyes of the beholders with its more 
than oriental splendor. When erected, a statue of Trajan 
stood upon its summit, but at such a height above the 
ground it was almost lost to sight. Trajan was the only 
one of the emperors who was buried within the city, his 
ashes, it has been said, being placed in a golden urn and 
interred beneath this column. The statue which we see 
now on its summit is that of St. Peter, placed there by 
Sixtus V. 

The following extract from an ancient writer is in- 
teresting : 

" Having now entered the Forum of Trajan, the most marvelous 
invention of human genius— singularum sub omni coelo substruction 
— he (the Emperor Constantine) was struck with admiration, and 
looked round in amazement, without being able to utter a word, 
wondering at the gigantic structures — giganteos contextus — which 
no pen can describe, and which mankind can create and see only 
once in the course of centuries. Having consequently given up 
any hope of building himself anything which would approach, 
even at a respectful distance, the work of Trajan, he turned his 
attention to the equestrian statue placed in the centre of the 
forum, and said to his attendants that he would have one like 
it in Constantinople. These words having been heard by Her- 
misdos, a young Persian prince attached to his court, he turned 
quickly to the emperor, and said: "If your majesty wants to 
secure and keep such a horse, you must first provide him with a 
stable like this." — Ammianus Marcellinus (XVI, 10). 

It is said that one day, Gregory the Great, while con- 
templating the splendor of this forum, was so saddened 
by the thought that so gifted a man as Trajan should be 



CHRISTIANITY BECOMES STATE RELIGION. 27 1 

in torment, succeeded by his prayers in securing the re- 
lease of the soul of the Emperor from purgatory ; but, as a 
penalty for so doing, he himself was afflicted with suffer- 
ing and disease for all the remaining years of his life. 

This stately pillar, which, with all our boasted progress, 
could not possibly be reproduced to-day, stands near the 
northwestern end of the forum, and these broken columns, 
a " grove of stone," which you see in this hollow square, 
are the remains of the elaborate and beautiful Basilica Ul- 
pia whose rich and lavish decorations baffle all descrip- 
tion. 

It was in this Ulpian Basilica, in A. D. 312, according to ancient 
authority, that the lords of the empire, having been here as- 
sembled, Constantine arose and proclaimed the abjuration of 
polytheism in favor of Christianity; and hence, it was on this 
very spot that he closed the long ages of antiquity and ushered 
in the dawn of modern civilization. The senators listened to 
the words of the Emperor in sullen silence, for the patricians 
were attached to the old order of things and feared that any 
change would be for their disadvantage ; but the people, a mighty 
throng, who had crowded into the Basilica when the Emperor be- 
gan speaking, listened with rapt faces, and when he concludeed, 
announcing that the religion of the Crucified should henceforth 
and forever be that of the Roman Empire, the multitude burst 
into tumultuous shouts of joy, which, we are told, "continued for 
the space of two hours." But when the people caught sight of 
the bitter and contemptuous faces of the patricians, their joy 
turned to frenzied rage, and a terrible outburst of passion and 
revolution was only averted by Constantine, who beckoned the 
people to silence and then spoke as follows : " To be a Christian," 
he said, " one must desire to be one ; and to refuse admission to 
such an one, seeking it, would be a grave offense; to impose it 



272 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

upon any would also be blameworthy; this is the rule of truth. 
Those who do not imitate us, shall not lose our good graces, while 
those who become Christians with us shall be our friends." And 
thus on that day, in this historic place, the great and wise Con- 
stantine had the wisdom of a sage and the tolerance of a saint. 
In one breath he proclaimed Christianity as the religion of the 
State, and the right and liberty of every man to worship God ac- 
cording to the dictates of his own conscience; and the world, 
after these fifteen hundred years, is only now coming into the full 
heritage of this latter truth. And so, while geographically an 
ocean's breadth and half a continent separate Trajan's Forum 
from Plymouth Rock, yet in thought and feeling they lie close to- 
gether, for they both stand for that eternal truth, the right and 
freedom of worship. 

As an example of how quickly, in the course of cen- 
turies, structures become buried by the action of the ele- 
ments, it may be stated that, if not swept once a week 
as it is now, Trajan's Forum would be covered with an 
inch of dust in a year, at the rate of thirty-three and 
one-third feet in a century. Considerable of the Forum 
area is still buried beneath the modern streets and build- 
ings, but enough has been excavated to reveal something 
of the remarkable beauty of the original buildings, prov- 
ing that the sculptors of Imperial Rome were not inferior 
to those of Imperial Greece. 

" All that yet is fair 

Seems only spared to tell how much had perished there." 

Ruskin says that the people who dwell among the Alps 
are the most insensible to their glories, and you will no- 
tice that, of all the persons whom you see about this Forum 
with its majestic column — persons bent on pleasure or on 



ART A COMMON HERITAGE. 273 

business, some hurrying by and others lingering for a 
morning chat — but one, or at most two, seem at all con- 
scious of the presence of monuments, that, for the seeing 
of which, a man might well go to great labor and expense. 
And yet, notwithstanding their apparent indifference to 
this priceless heritage, the poorest child in Rome catches 
some inspiration which is denied to the children of other 
lands, for it is generally found that it feels itself related, 
in some real and yet mystical manner, to the great ones 
who lived here long ago. An American, referring to 
United Italy, spoke of it in the presence of a Roman noble- 
man as a " young nation." The prince, without lifting his 
eyes, while drawing and replacing his scarf-pin, replied 
languidly, " Ah, yes, very young, with many centuries 
upon its shoulders." 

The church on the right is that of the Nome di Maria, 
built to commemorate the liberation of Vienna from the 
Turks in 1683, and the one on the left is that of S. Maria 
di Loreto. The three-story house with blinds, between the 
two, is a police station. We could soon become as familiar 
with some of these streets and buildings in Rome as with 
those we pass every morning when at home on our way to 
business. The Colosseum is nearly half a mile directly 
behind us here, the Capitoline Hill and the Island of the 
Tiber lie sharply to our left. 

But we are to move on now to our right, and look upon 
some of the modern glories of Rome. Only a block away 
to the rirfit of the Nome di Maria Church is the Palace of 



1 74 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Colonna, the home of one of the oldest Roman families, 
which played an important part in Italy during the time 
of the Papacy. We saw this palace when looking from 
the Dome of St. Peter's (Stereograph No. 4). On the 
map it is found just north of the Forum of Xrajan. 

37. The Gallery of the Palace of the Prince 
of Colonna, the Oldest Roman Family. 

Truly this is a grand hall, adorned as it is with mirrors 
and statuary, painted with brilliant frescoes and portraits 
by the great masters and paved with the finest marble. At 
night, when the crystal candelabra are all ablaze, mirrors, 
marbles and frescoes render the gallery a scene of dazzling 
splendor. 

The Colonna Palace was begun in the fifteenth century, 
by Martin V, a member of the Colonna family. It is said 
by some to have been constructed partly from material be- 
longing to Aurelian's Temple of the Sun, but this is very 
doubtful. The glistening marble pavement before us is 
said to have been formed from pieces cut out of a frag- 
ment of the frieze of this mammoth temple. 

Close at hand is the site of the ancient castle belonging 
to this celebrated family where Prince Colonna entertained 
Petrarch, during one, at least, of his visits to Rome. 

This beautiful gallery abounds with works of art of the 
greatest value — Raphael, Titian, Andrea del Sarto, Paul 
Veronese, Vandyke and Tintoretto being among the paint- 
ers here represented. That vaulted ceiling is one of the 
finest in Rome and is adorned by Coli and Gherardi with 



THE COLONNA PALACE. 275 

frescoes of the battle of Lepanto,in which Marcus Antonio 
Colonna took part. As one wanders through these fantas- 
tic and fairy-like rooms, filled with gems of art, a light and 
playful fancy guides the eye from one object to another — 
portraits, landscapes, battle scenes, tapestries and fine old 
cabinets inlaid with ivory and lapis lazuli; but the object 
which arrests the attention oftenest and lingers in the 
memory longest is the chaste yet simple emblem of the 
family, a pure stately column which appears in paintings 
and works of art again and again. A flight of seven 
marble steps, in which is imbedded a cannon-ball fired 
into the city during the bombardment of 1849, leads to 
this gallery. 

The greater part of the palace is now occupied by the 
French ambassadors, one appointed to the Quirinal and 
the other to the Vatican. 

Having stood for some time in this delightful spot, sur- 
rounded by so much of beauty, we will now, on the prin- 
ciple that " variety is the spice of life," go to one of the 
most curiously interesting places in Rome, the Cappuccini 
Catacombs. The Convent and Church beneath which these 
Catacombs are located are found on the map a considera- 
ble distance to the north of the Palace of Colonna, on the 
north side of the Quirinal Palace. 

38. Chamber in the Cappuccini Catacombs. 

Long years ago the basement of the convent was filled, 
to the depth of a number of feet, with earth brought from 



276 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Jerusalem, in which, when they died, the members of the 
order were interred; but the cemetery soon proved too 
small, for, at length, the last grave was filled. But what 
an injustice to the surviving members of the brotherhood ! 
When they came to die, what then? Must they be de- 
prived of the privilege of resting in the holy earth ? This 
could not be, and so, when another died, the brother who 
had lain there longest was taken up, and when his bones 
had undergone a little treatment, they were laid away in 
a pile, which constantly grew by the addition of others, as 
the years went by. Then came along a bright, suggestive 
monk, one who was an artist by nature and a genius, and 
having received permission to do as he pleased, he ar- 
ranged them in this remarkable manner, saving the entire 
skeletons of those who had achieved fame — becoming car- 
dinals or the head of the order, and, clothing them in the 
usual gown worn by the Capuchins, stood them up in 
niches made by the bones of the rest. The cardinals, judg- 
ing from their expression, enjoy the humor of the situa- 
tion. 

But it must be confessed that, to the ordinary observer, 
to see thigh bones and shoulder blades, arms and pelves, 
worked up into bouquets, garlands, and elegant tapestries, 
and to behold above our heads, as we do now, a unique 
lamp formed out of a skull, and vertebrae suspended from 
the ceiling by the bones of the forearm, and to see before 
us, on the opposite wall, a. perfect mantel-piece on which 
rests a row of genial craniums, and above them another 
row still, and above them, again, a couple of arms ex- 



THE CHURCH OF THE CAPPUCCINI. 277 

tended as though inviting you to lay aside your reserve 
and walk up and shake hands with them, is certainly a 
sight calculated to make 

" Each particular hair stand on end, 
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine." 

Since the present government has had charge of the 
city, burial in this basement has been prohibited, but the 
bodies that now sleep in the narrow graves marked by the 
simple crosses are permitted to remain there. 

In this Church of the Cappuccini is a famous painting 
by Guido Reni, " The Archangel Michael trampling upon 
the Devil." The Devil is said to be a portrait of Pope In- 
nocent X, whom the painter disliked exceedingly. The 
private preacher and confessor to the Pope has always 
been a Capuchin monk. 

Leaving these mournful reminders of our mortality, let 
us go next to something that almost seems possessed of 
enduring life and majestic power, something which is at 
once one of the glories of Rome and of modern art, the 
" Moses " of Michelangelo. This statue is in the Church 
of San Pietro in Vincoli, which is found on the map a few 
blocks north of the Colosseum. We saw the church with 
its open porch and low tower when looking from the Cap- 
itol (Stereograph No. 25). 

59. Michelangelo's "Moses," in the Church 
of San Pietro in Vincoli. 

This colossal Moses, as you see, is seated, holding the 



278 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

two tables of the law pressed between his right arm and 
side and stroking his beard between his thumb and fore- 
finger. His head is slightly turned to our right and, upon 
it, peeping out above the wavy locks of his thick hair, are 
two diminutive horns, the symbol of power and strength 
among the Israelites, who loved to sing, " My horn wilt 
Thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn." Moses has two 
horns, to show his exceptionally exalted position. Observe 
the droop of those powerful shoulders, the veins of the 
arm and hand and the folds of the robe as it falls over his 
giant-like knee. Notwithstanding the fact that the critics 
of a day have found much fault with it, declaring that the 
leg is too long for the foot and the head is too small for 
the beard, the longer we gaze upon it, the more we are 
impressed that the critics are all wrong, and that never 
was chiseled out of stone anything that represented so 
grandly the imperious will, the moral ascendency, and the 
ceaseless energy of an immortal and heroic leader as does 
this statue of Moses. What a lightning glance! What 
masterful muscles! What inherent dignity! If, in the 
midst of some surging multitude mad with riot, he should 
start up and speak with that terrible voice of his, how the 
waves of human passion would cower and vanish, as did 
the storm on Galilee at the Master's command. It is 
scarcely to be wondered at, as we are informed by Vasari, 
that, in the early years of its existence, the Jews of Rome 
used to come every Saturday, their Sabbath, and worship 
before this figure that appeared to them to be the very 
incarnation of Jehovah. 



AN ENGLISHMAN S ESTIMATE. 279 

A stalwart Englishman with golf suit and cap, viewing 
the statue through the medium of a single eyeglass, 
affirmed, in the presence of a party of friends who stood 
beside him, that in his opinion, " the gentleman had very 
fine features," a compliment which ought to have made 
even a marble statue relax. 

This wonderful work of art was intended to adorn a 
gigantic tomb of Julius II. The tomb was to be eighteen 
feet high and twelve feet wide, and was to have contained 
forty statues, but Julius died before this monument was 
fairly begun and no one survived him who thought enough 
of him to finish it. 

The niche (where the statue stands) is altogether too 
small for it ; indeed it would need the wide sweep and lofty 
height of Constantine's Basilica or Aurelian's mighty 
Temple of the Sun to do it justice. 

It is said that Michelangelo created a new world of art, 
a colossal planet in which his Moses was high priest. Cer- 
tainly in his daring, monstrous energy, he produced stu- 
pendous results, which those who followed him could 
never imitate without becoming ridiculous or grotesque. 

Up to this time, all our sight-seeing has been within the 
limits of the city, but our knowledge of Rome would not 
be satisfactory if we did not view its old walls and even 
look upon scenes beyond them. Right across the city at 
its southern extremity are two very interesting architec- 
tural monuments — the Gate of St. Paul and the Pyramid 
of Gaius Cestius, On our map of Rome we find them 



280 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

directly south of the Aventine Hill, near the lower map 
margin. The red lines there, with the number 40 at- 
tached, show where we are to stand, and that we shall be 
looking north. 

40. The Gate of St. Paul and Pyramid of 
Gaius Cestius. 

We are outside the ancient city now looking up to its 
southern wall. There is the Pyramid of Cestius on our 
left with the St. Paul Gate farther away to the right. The 
Gate of St. Paul, originally the Porta Ostiensis in the 
Aurelian Wall, was rebuilt by Belisarius. It was there that 
the Emperor Claudius, when returning to the city from 
Ostia to take vengeance upon his wife Messalina, was met 
by his two children, Octavia and Brittanicus, and also by 
a Vestal Virgin who insisted upon the rights belonging to 
her order and demanded that the Empress should not be 
condemned without a hearing. This gate is a portion of 
the old wall, a portion of which may be seen in the lower 
part of the right-hand tower. 

All the walls on this side of the Tiber are, with only a 
few changes, the same as those commenced by Aurelian in 
A. D. 272 and finished a few years later by Probus. Re- 
pairs have been made by Honorius, Theodoric, Belisarius, 
and several popes. Benedict XIV in 1749 made the last 
repairs of any great extent. The wall is composed of red 
brick set with cement and is so solid that when there was 
occasion to build a railroad through it, dynamite had to 
be used to demolish it. 



AN ENDURING MONUMENT. 281 

The gray, sharp pyramid of Gaius Cestius makes a very 
striking and picturesque combination with the battle- 
mented Gothic towers of the gateway. Each intensifies the 
effect of the other because of the greatness of the contrast. 
I do not remember to have seen in Rome, and scarcely 
anywhere, a more unique and curious architectural object 
than this pyramid of marble which is one hundred and 
twenty-five feet in height and one hundred feet square at 
the base. This is the only instance in Rome of a pyramid 
serving for a tomb. It stands partly within and partly 
without the wall of Aurelian for, as it had been standing 
here several hundred years before the wall was built, 
Aurelian simply included it in the line of his fortifications. 
The pyramid was erected in honor of Gaius Cestius, a tri- 
bune of the people, who died nearly two thousand years 
ago, 29 B. C., leaving to Agrippa a sum of money to pro- 
vide for him a suitable monument. Two colossal statues 
were erected in his honor at first, as well as the pyramid, 
but the statues have long since disappeared. As you ob- 
serve, the pyramid is well-nigh perfect to-day, being of the 
shape best suited to defy the ravages of time. That pro- 
tecting wall has been built to guard its base from the many 
vehicles passing around it on this much frequented road. 

Extending from the pyramid toward us, you will no- 
tice a short section of the old wall. Just back of that wall 
lies the beautiful Protestant Cemetery in which the gifted 
poet Keats, who died in Rome of consumption, lies buried. 

His friend, Severn, wrote of his last hours : " Among the many 



282 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

things that he requested of me to-night, this is the principal, that 
on his grave should be this : 

M * Here lies one whose name was writ in water.' 

"At times, during his last days/' he continued, "he made me 
go to see the place where he was to be buried, and he expressed 
pleasure at my description of the locality of the Pyramid of 
Cestius, about the grass and many flowers, particularly the in- 
numerable violets, also about the flocks of goats and sheep and 
a young shepherd that attended them ; all these intensely interested 
him. Violets were his favorite flowers, and he joyed to hear how 
they overspread the graves. He assured me that he had seemed 
to feel the flowers growing over him." And there they do grow 
all winter long, violets and daisies mingling together, and, in the 
words of Shelley, who is buried in the same cemetery and not far 
away, " Making one in love with death to think that one should 
be buried in so sweet a place/' 

Sixty-one years after the death of Keats, Severn was 
buried by the side of his friend of boyhood days. They 
rest together, life's fever gone, near the entrance of the 
old portion of the Cemetery. 

On Keats' tomb are the words, " This grave contains all 
that was mortal of a young English poet, who, on his 
death-bed, in the bitterness of his heart at the malicious 
power of his enemies, desired these words to be engraved 
on his tombstone : ' Here lies one whose name was writ in 
water.' " On Shelley's tombstone are the words, " Cor 
Cordium." Speaking of this place, George Eliot wrote, 
" It was a spot that touched me deeply. It lies against the 
old city's walls, close to the Porta S. Paolo, and is one of 
the quietest spots of old Rome. And there, under the 



AT THE GATE OF ST. PAUL. 283 

shadow of the old walls on one side, and the cypresses on 
the other, lies the " ' Cor Cordium ' forever at rest." 

The monstrous walls, grim old pyramid and the silent 
cemetery alone with its dead, would all be oppressive, 
were it not for flashes of present-day life and gladness 
that, like the coming of the birds and flowers, brighten 
everything. We only need to catch sight of that 
proud little urchin standing erect as a soldier and the 
laughing young woman beside him to bring our thoughts 
back to the Rome of to-day, to the bustle and blessing of 
the brightest, busiest century that ever the sun shone on. 

Along this very road it is believed that the Apostle 
Paul, the greatest man of his time, went to martyrdom. 
One of the most beautiful churches in Italy, S. Paolo 
fuori le Mura (St. Paul's Without the Walls) is found a 
mile and a half out along this road, and here the apostle 
was buried. TJhis gate being on the road to the church 
thus obtains its name. 

When, in Rome, finding myself wearied at times by wil- 
dernesses of ruins, and by enormous structures too vast to 
contemplate without an effort, I used to stroll out of the 
city by this old gate, linger for a little at the foot of the 
pyramid, sombered as it is by the sunshine and the storms 
of two thousand years, step into the Protestant Cemetery 
and pick a handful of daisies, and then walk out to the 
Church of St. Paul Without the Walls. To-day, I am not 
alone, for we shall go and stand amid its splendors to- 
gether. 



284 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

41. The Splendid Altar of St. Paul's, Pre- 
sented to Pope Pius IX by an Infidel. 

I am sure it would not be difficult for us to imagine just 
now that we are looking at a chaste and exquisite Greek 
temple built on Mars Hill in the golden days of Athenian 
glory; for I know nothing else to which to compare this 
noble structure, so pure and radiant is it, unless it be to 
the spotless robe which glistens eternally upon the shoul- 
ders of Mont Blanc. 

This church, in which we are standing, is in the midst 
of a vast solitude on the very edge of the mournful Cam- 
pagna and close to the Tiber. The surrounding terri- 
tory was not always desolate. During the Middle Ages, 
a large and flourishing suburb called Johannipolis, from its 
founder, John VIII, stood here, but the fearful ravages 
of that dread and awful pestilence, the Roman fever, has 
transformed the place into a pitiable desert ; a fitting local- 
ity, however, in which to speak forth the story of the mar- 
tyrdom of St. Paul. 

The more ancient structure which stood here was de- 
stroyed by fire, July 15, 1823, and this basilica took its 
place in 1854. It may be of interest to English speaking 
people to know that while the sovereigns of France were 
recognized as the protectors of St. John Lateran, and 
those of Spain of S. M. Maggiore, the sovereigns of Eng- 
land, before the Reformation, were the protectors of this 
S. Paolo fuori le Mura. 

It is four hundred and ten feet from the apse to the far 
end of the nave of the church, along which we are now 



A BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR. 285 

looking, and the width is two hundred and twenty-two 
feet. We are standing near the western end looking east. 
Four ranges of violet granite columns with white marble 
bases and capitals surround this space ; one of the second 
row may be seen through the altar on the right. Above 
the inner rows of columns we may see a series of mosaic 
portraits of the Popes, and though we might not at first 
think it, each of these portraits is five feet in diameter. 

The grand triumphal arch, resting on the two superb 
Ionic pillars, just beyond and above the altar — the left- 
hand one we can see plainly — belongs to the old basilica, 
erected in 386. We catch enough of the fine sweep of 
the arch to note the beautiful carving which covers it. 

Now examine the high altar. It is supported by four 
pillars of oriental alabaster, presented by a Mohammedan, 
Mehemet AH, Viceroy of Egypt ; while back of us, at the 
ends of the transepts, are altars of malachite, the gift of 
the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, the head of the Greek 
Church. 

Beneath this high altar is the " Confession " where the 
Apostle Paul is said to be buried. As for myself, I have 
often looked long and admiringly at this church, at the 
lustrous pavement doubling, as on the surface of a moun- 
tain lake, all the arches and vaults. Its flat, gorgeously 
paneled ceiling adds wondrously to the exquisite effect of 
the whole. 

Ever since first I saw the interior of this church, my re- 
gret has been that such a dream of perfection in stone 
could not have been placed beside some crowded thorough- 



286 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

fare, where men and women, wearied with life's battle and 
worn with its burdens, could step into its calm loveliness, 
and from the vantage-ground of its sacred beauty and 
spiritual repose, catch sight of " the house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens." 

Before we leave this place, we must see the cloisters, 
one of the best examples of monastic architecture that 
have come down to us from the thirteenth century. 



42. The Beautiful Twisted Columns of the 
Ancient Cloisters of St. Paul's. 

A monastery has always been connected with the 
church, but here, as in many of the fairest paradises of the 
tropics, miasma lurks with its deadly poison and, on this 
account, but few monks are attached to the place. 

These beautiful twisted columns were not made by 
machinery and turned out at so much a dozen; they are 
the finest work of the most talented sculptors of the 
twelfth century, when men worked for the sake of doing 
their very best and put life and strength and love into 
what they wrought. Almost every known variety of col- 
umn, or combination of varieties, is found here. Notice 
that the cloister extends around the garden; thus you 
gain an idea of the number of these columns. It is not 
chance or accident that causes these monks to come here 
to study; they are drawn here irresistibly by the charm 
and beauty of these columns and arches, as though they 



GATE OF ST. SEBASTIAN. 287 

were under the influence of the fabled magnet of the fairy 
tales. And I vouch for it, that their minds are never so 
intently absorbed with the prayer-book, but that, occa- 
sionally, albeit unconsciously, they rest their hands with 
fond admiration upon those spiral gems while musing on 
the whole vision of loveliness. 

Before we go farther from Rome, there is one more 
Gate we should see, the Gate of S. Sebastian, through 
which the Appian Way pierced the Wall of Au- 
relian. It is found on the map near the lower margin to 
the east of the St. Paul Gate. The red lines with the 
number 43 attached show that we are to stand south of 
the wall and look at the fine old Roman gateway from 
the outside. 



43. Gate of St. Sebastian, the Porta Appia 
of the Aurelian Wall. 

Who could help admiring those two massive semi-cir- 
cular towers ? They are part of the old Wall of Aurelian, 
though the basement upon which they rest is more recent, 
having been faced and strengthened by marble blocks 
taken, in all probability, from the Temple of Mars, which 
stood to our right along this Appian Way. It is easy for 
us to see the difference between the more recent masonry 
by Honorius, in the early part of the fifth century, and the 
battle-scarred face of the older wall above. 

Under the ancient archway of the Porta Capena, which 



288 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

stood over this road, nearer the city, the Apostle Paul 
passed on his way to Nero's Council Chamber when he 
came as a prisoner from Caesarea; and there, 57 
B. C, the Senate and people of Rome, a mighty 
concourse, received Cicero upon his return from banish- 
ment. Beneath the arch before us, that of the Aurelian 
Wall, passed the last triumphal procession which entered 
the city, that of Marc Antonio Colonna, after the victory 
of the battle of Lepanto in 1571. 

It would require a volume to describe the scenes of 
conflict and of splendor that have taken place in the 
shadow of these grim old towers, whose walls have been 
assaulted by every known engine of war, and yet, in their 
defaced and battered condition, still keep watch and ward 
over the famous Appia Via, the queen of the world's 
highways. On the other side of this gateway, over the 
arch, is a Gothic inscription which recounts the repulse 
on this spot of unknown invaders. The gates of Rome 
have seen more historic events during the sixteen hundred 
years of their existence than almost any other monuments 
in the world. 

Beyond the gateway we may see the lower portion of 
a column and a section of an arch. They belong to the 
so-called Arch of Drusus, which spans the road at that 
point. 

The Arch of Constantine, where the continuation of the 
Appian Way, within the city known as Via Triumphalis ; 
merges into the Sacra Via, is about one and one-quarter 
miles beyond this gateway. 



ROMAN GATEWAYS. 289 

Apart from the memories of the past, which invest this 
place with deep historic interest, there is always a degree 
of bustle and confusion about it which imparts to it a 
strong local coloring that never fails to attract the in- 
terest of strangers from other lands. To the left of the 
gateway there is usually a mounted policeman, an almost 
invariable adjunct to Roman gateways, for here baggage 
and merchandise are examined and duties collected be- 
fore they are allowed to enter the city. 

Turning away from this entrance, which admitted into 
Rome all the vast throng that came over the Appian Way 
through so many centuries, we shall take our stand next 
on this road about one mile from here. 

44. Along the Appian Way, constructed 
Fourth Century B. C. 

What changes the centuries bring! If Julius Caesar 
should rise from his grave, he would scarcely recognize 
this as the renowned military road of the Romans; in- 
deed, the only thing by which he could identify it at all 
would be that imposing round tower rising so majestic- 
ally on the summit of the road, the Tomb of Caecilia Me- 
tella, that 

" Stern round tower of other days, 
Firm as a fortress with its fence of stone." 

This tomb is built of concrete and the facing which 
we see is travertine. It is surmounted by a frieze 



290 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

and cornice of marble, and is lined with brick in the in- 
terior. The tomb is one hundred feet in diameter and 
thirty-four feet in height, with walls thirty-five feet thick. 
We need to know these facts in order that we may under- 
stand how it could remain there through nearly twenty 
centuries. The enormous solidity of this structure speaks 
of a rude and semi-barbarous age. Caecilia, for whom it 
was built, lived in the closing years of the Republic and 
was the daughter of Metellus Creticus, Consul 69 B. C. 
and wife of a Crassus, probably M. Licinius Crassus. 
From this mausoleum was taken the beautiful sarcopha- 
gus, now in the courtyard of the Farnese Palace. It is 
the oldest Roman structure remaining intact, of which we 
have positive knowledge, in which marble is used. In the 
Middle Ages, it was turned into a fortress with battle- 
ments by the warlike Gsetani, who also threw an arch over 
the Appian Way at that place, thus forcing all travellers 
to pay them tribute. 

" Good old plan, 
That he shall take who has the power, 
And he shall keep who can." 

The street-cleaning brigade has evidently been doing 
good service here, as is shown by the heaps of dirt ranged 
along the side of the roadway. In 1871, the first year of 
Victor Emmanuel's reign, seventy-two thousand dollars 
was expended by the city in street cleaning. In 1885 this 
amount had increased to one hundred and twenty-two 
thousand dollars. At the present time the expenditure is 
about one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, and 



ITALIAN WINE SHOPS. 29 1 

more than two hundred tons of dirt are removed from 
the streets each day. The little stone house standing 
just to our left, sadly in need of whitewash, is an 
interesting establishment. It is a wine-shop, as is in- 
dicated both by the word " vino " on the wall facing us, 
and by that olive branch which is not growing out of the 
front wall. Throughout Italy the numerous wine-shops, 
encountered at intervals along the dusty road, are desig- 
nated by just such a branch, which gave rise to the Italian 
proverb that, " good wine needs no bush," by which they 
mean, that any wine-shop famed for its excellent wines, 
does not require a bush hanging outside to insure it cus- 
tom. Here we have some neighborhood gossip dispensed 
on the doorstep; and, at the corner, an interesting con- 
versation is being carried on, but the most interesting per- 
son in sight is the little girl who stands in front of 
us with her raven locks stealing out from under her 
tightly fitting headdress and her crumpled apron which 
looks as roguish as herself. 

Let us now stroll out along the Appian Way three 
miles beyond the fifth milestone. 

45. Venerable Tombs and Young Italian Life, 
Beside the Renowned Appian Way. 

The memories that throng upon an intelligent student 
of Roman history, in a spot like this, are almost inex- 
haustible. He calls to mind that, on both sides of this 



292 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

great highway, were reared magnificent palaces, and be- 
side each palace, was constructed a tomb, and because the 
hard, practical instinct of the Roman told him he should 
need it longer, the tomb was always built more massive 
and enduring than the palace. This is why the ruins of 
the palaces have long since disappeared, while those of 
the tombs remain. We may judge of the titanic solidity 
of these mausoleums by the ruins which we see before us, 
some of which overtop those trees on the right-hand side 
of the road and stand out against the sky like huge bas- 
tions. 

The mass of towering walls seen on the left-hand side 
of the road belong to the medieval fortress, Torre Mezza 
Strada, which was built out of material taken from the 
wayside tombs. Along this road, almost as perfect now 
as then, came the resplendent funeral procession of the 
Emperor Augustus, when his body was brought from his 
southern villa where he died, to the world's capital, lying 
five miles behind us. This was the road, too — perhaps 
his feet pressed some of those very stones — over which 
the Apostle Paul was led to appear before Nero ; and past 
here the fair Queen Zenobia of Palmyra came, also a 
captive. Nero, on his way to the Bay of Naples, rode by 
this very spot, attended by a brilliant escort of Roman 
soldiers, and a retinue of servants in charge of one thou- 
sand wagons filled with the luxury and wealth of an em- 
pire, and five hundred she-asses which were taken along 
in order that the emperor's wife might have a bath every 
day in their milk. And it was along this Appian Way, so 



"quovadis?" 293 

the legend goes, that the Apostle Peter was fleeing from 
the city during the persecutions under Nero, when, over 
the broad pavement, though nearer the city than where 
we are now, he saw the Lord Christ approaching, his 
face set toward Rome. " Lord, whither goest thou ? " 
cried the terrified disciple, and the answer came, " I go to 
Rome to be crucified a second time. ,, Peter understood, 
and bowed his head and returned to martyrdom. 

How short, though it be prolonged to three-quarters of 
a century, seems this young life near us in comparison 
with the many centuries that have passed over these ven- 
erable tombs ! Human life seems as brief, in the light of 
such a scene as this, as that of an insect of a day. Once 
a fly perched upon the cup of a poet, and, as he contem- 
plated it, he wrote : 

" Both alike are mine and thine, 
Hastening swift to their decline; 
Thine a summer, mine no more, 
Though repeated to threescore. 
Threescore summers, when they're done, 
Will appear as short as one." 

But though individual lives are short, though tombs do 
cover the earth, yet life, fresh, vigorous and happy, still 
goes on. What promises we have of this in that sweet 
little Italian girl with spirituelle features and modest pos- 
ture, who might well serve a modern Raphael as a model 
for a Madonna. And those two boys examining a coin 
with eager interest as to its genuineness; the one seated 
upon the stone is clad in the picturesqueness of tatters, 



294 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

while the feet of both lads are wrapped about with cloths 
and have sandals tied upon them. Their hats are of the 
antique type, possibly to match their present surround- 
ings, and one of them has a feather stuck in his hat-band, 
seemingly in imitation of Yankee-Doodle, who came to 
town thus arrayed. Beneath the hats, dilapidated as they 
appear, are bright, intelligent faces, full of the joy and 
gladness of life. We can expect one of them to look up 
presently, as soon as he has made quite sure that the lira 
we have given him is genuine, then a smile will light up 
his dark face and a flash of gratitude, jewel-like, leap 
from his black eyes ; and when he has thanked us for our 
liberality, he will bound away again, over the wide Cam- 
pagna, followed by his playmate, and be lost among the 
nameless ruins that are scattered over this shaggy plain. 

There is one more view we wish to see, before we leave 
the Campagna, the greatest ruin outside the walls of 
Rome. 



46. Aqueduct oi Claudius, which was Forty- 
two Miles Long and Constructed in 
A. D. 52. 

This monstrous highway for conducting water into the 
city was built by the Emperor Claudius, the water com- 
ing from the neighborhood of Subiaco, over thirty miles 
distant. The arches were made lofty in order to carry the 
water to the Palatine Hill, for the water brought in this 



ROME S WATER SUPPLY. 295 

aqueduct was used in the palaces of the Emperor. The 
full length of this waterway was nearly forty-six miles; 
for thirty-six miles it was subterranean, but for ten miles 
it was carried on arches. No city in the world was more 
abundantly supplied with water than was Rome under 
the Caesars. Gigantic aqueducts approached the city from 
all directions, very much as railroad tracks do now. And 
there was need of this, for the numerous and extensive 
public and private baths required three hundred and 
thirty-three millions of gallons a day, the inflow of a per- 
fect river of water. 

At the present time, by means of four of these ancient 
aqueducts which have been restored, an amount of water 
is brought into the city every day equal to one hundred 
and ten gallons for each inhabitant, while Paris receives 
but seventy gallons and London only thirty daily. So 
Rome is still the best watered city in the world. 

To my mind, there is something wonderfully grand and 
beautiful about these ponderous and broken arches out 
here on the solitary plain. Their crumbling stones, as 
they lie strewn about in the long grass, look like the frag- 
ments of fallen worlds. 

The Campagna itself suggests a wide, dreary sea or a 
desert of death surrounding the city on all sides. The 
depopulation of this fertile plain is due to the ravages of 
the Roman fever, but, as it has been drained of late and 
sanitary precautions have been taken, the health of the 
district is greatly improved and farms are springing up 
again in every direction. So that it may be true of the 



296 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

Campagna with its wild buffaloes and fierce men, as was 
prophesied of another land which is also desolate, " that 
the desert and the solitary place shall rejoice and blossom 
as the rose." 

As I look at that lad, lying in about the only position 
in which a boy can be thoroughly comfortable, I can but 
think of another lad who once, near this spot, found his 
fortune in his lifework. This locality is a famous place 
for artists who are fond of painting the dark-red stone 
arches of this old giant waterway. One day, now many 
years gone, there came hither a celebrated German artist 
who had spent years in Rome. He desired to paint the 
old ruin, but felt the need of something to give life and 
vividness to his picture. Right here he met a boy from 
the mountains, a real Albanian savage, who was rolling 
about in the tall grass simply because he had nothing else 
to do. Being attracted by his noble physique and his re- 
markable beauty, the artist asked him if he would pose for 
him — be his model for an hour. The boy consented, but 
said he had never acted in that capacity and did not know 
what to do. " Do as I tell you," said the artist, and he 
did, standing as though he were carved out of stone for 
more than an hour. When it was all over, the German, 
a kindly man and a bachelor, and one of the finest artists 
in Rome, asked the boy his name and where he lived. 
The lad gave his name and said he had been a week in 
the city, where in company with his father he had played 
before the shrines, but now Christmas was passed, he 
must find other work to do. 



FAREWELL TO ROME. 297 

" How would you like to sweep out my studio and 
wash my brushes and clean my palette? I will pay you 
what it is worth, and if I see you have a talent for it, I 
will give you lessons in painting." To be able to paint 
had been the dream of the boy's life, and he most gladly 
accepted the offer and began his work by shouldering the 
easel and taking under his arm the little camp-stool used 
by the artist and followed his benefactor into the city. 
It is a long story, and we have not space to tell it all, but 
this I will say, the Campagna idler has become one of 
the foremost painters of our day, and when blindness be- 
fell the man who was more than a father to him, he sup- 
ported him by his own exertions to the end; and, even 
now, handsome and successful as he is, his eyes will fill 
with tears when his patron's name is mentioned, and he 
often speaks of the day when, beneath the arches of the 
Claudian Aqueduct, he found his friend and his fortune. 

Well, we must leave Rome, for there are other places 
of interest in Italy, but we go away with precious mem- 
ories of what we have seen ; how precious, only the com- 
ing years can reveal to us. Especially to the young, it is 
probable that Rome will seem at first a place of dry, dead 
bones, but as life goes on, as our own experiences deepen 
and broaden, as we pick up this book or that article, or 
listen to a lecture on some phase of the life once lived here, 
then the lifeless, unsightly bones in one place after another 
take on flesh and blood, and we gradually see the deserted 
places inhabited again, until finally the grand old city 



298 ROME THROUGH THE STEREOSCOPE. 

swarms with living, fascinating memories. The longer 
we are acquainted with Rome, the more profoundly we be- 
lieve in the truth of the words of Dr. Samuel Johnson, 
who says : 

" A man who has not been in Italy is always conscious 
of an inferiority for his not having seen what it is ex- 
pected a man should see. It ought to be the business of 
every man's life to see Rome" 

No matter what has been our first impression of Rome, 
we shall find them tending more and more to those of 
Hawthorne : 

" When we have once known Rome, and left her where she lies, 
like a long-decaying corpse, retaining a trace of the noble shape 
it was, but with accumulated dust and a fungous growth over- 
spreading all its more admirable features — left her in utter weari- 
ness, no doubt, of her narrow, crooked, intricate streets, so un- 
comfortably paved with little squares of lava that to tread over 
them is a penitential pilgrimage; so indescribably ugly, moreover 
so cold, so alley-like, into which the sun never falls, and where a 
chill wind forces its deadly breath into our lungs — left her, tired 
of the sight of those immense seven-storied, yellow-washed hovels, 
or call them palaces, where all that is dreary in domestic life 
seems magnified and multiplied, and weary of climbing those stair- 
cases, which ascend from a ground floor of cook-shops, cobblers' 
stalls, stables and regiments of cavalry, to a middle region of 
princes, cardinals, and ambassadors, and an upper tier of artists, 
just beneath the unattainable sky — left her worn out with shivering 
at the cheerless and smoky fireside by day, and feasting with our 
own substance the ravenous population of a Roman bed at night — 
left her sick at heart of Italian trickery, which has uprooted what- 
ever faith in man's integrity had endured till now, and sick at 
stomach of sour bread, sour wine, rancid butter and bad cookery, 
needlessly bestowed on evil meats — left her disgusted with the 



HAWTHORNE S ESTIMATE OF ROME. 299 

pretense of holiness and the reality of nastiness, each equally omni- 
present — left her, half lifeless from the languid atmosphere, the 
vital principle of which has been used up long ago or corrupted 
by myriads of slaughters — left her, crushed down in spirit by the 
desolation of her ruin, and the hopelessness of her future — left her 
in short, hating her with all our might, and adding our individual 
curse to the infinite anathema which her old crimes have unmis- 
takably brought down — when we have left Rome in such a mood 
as this we are astonished by the discovery, by and by, that our 
heart-strings have mysteriously attached themselves to the Eternal 
City, and are drawing us thitherward again, as if it were more 
familiar, more intimately our home, than even the spot where we 
were born." 

" Then, from the very soil of silent Rome, 

You shall grow wise, and, walking, live again 

The lives of buried peoples, and become 

A child by right of that eternal home, 

Cradle and grave of empires, on whose walls 

The sun himself subdued to reverence falls." 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK* 



Adalbert of Prague, 14. 
Agrippa, 23, 155. 
Agrippina, 257. 
Alba Longa, 38. 
Aldobrandine Nuptials, 127. 
Alexis, St., 49. 
Ambrose, 88. 

American, An, in Rome, 122. 
Andrea del Sarto, 274. 
Anthony, Mark, 209. 
Apartamento Borgia, 127. 
Apennines, 4, 53. 
Apollo Belvidere, 78. 
Apollodorus of Damascus, 223. 
Aquinus, Thomas, 49. 
Arch of Augustus, 213. 

of Constantine, 33, 34, 260, 
262, 263, 264, 288. 

Drusus, 288. 

Earliest use of, 16. 

of Septimius Severus, 26, 29, 
181, 192. 

Tiberius, 213. 

Titus, 27, 33, 224, 261. 

Trajan, 263. 
Architecture, the last art to decay, 

222. 
Arnold of Rugby, 25. 
Art, Christian, 71, 73. 

a common heritage in Rome, 
273. 

Greek, 131. 
Arx, 165. 



Assumption of the Virgin, 31. 

Athanasius, 98. 

Augustine, 98. 

Augustus Caesar, 65, 148, 254. 

Building operations in time of, 
183, 254. 

Funeral of, 292. 
Aurelius, Marcus, 139. 

Equestrian statue of, 24, 25, 
172, 173. 
" Aurora," by Guido Reni, 57, 58. 

B 

Basilica of Constantine, 2, 26, 27, 
29, 5, 27, 28, 179, 221. 

Fulvia, or Fulvia Aemilia, 26, 
29, 184. 

Julia, 26, 27, 29, 180, 204. 

Portia, 184. 

Sempronia, 184. 

Ulpia, 36, 271, 272. 
Bas-reliefs in time of Trajan, 28, 

227, 228, 229, 230. 
Baths of Caracalla, 35, 51, 264, 265, 
266, 267, 268. 

Diocletian, 4, 59. 

Otricoli, 78. 

Titus, 2, 28, 78. 
Beggars in Rome, 169. 
Bembo, Cardinal, 159. 
Bernini, 45, 139. 
Biagio, Cardinal, 123. 
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 126. 
Black Stone, 196. 



* The stereograph numbers are given in heavy type, and the book pages 
in light type. 



302 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



Borgo, 5, 66, 67, 68. 

Botanical Gardens, 1, 20. 

Botticelli, 263. 

Bramante, 73. 

Bridges of Rome, 1, 4, 20, 21, 

14, 17. 
Bronzes, Greek and Roman, 126. 
Browning, Robert, 60. 
Brundusium, 262. 
Building Craze, 82, 83. 
Byron, 151. 



Caecilia Matella, Tomb of, 44, 289, 

290. 
Caecilia, St., 46, 47. 
Caesar, Julius, 17, 20, 22, 211, 212, 
289. 
Last triumph of, 209, 210, 211. 
Caligula, 25, 118, 206, 254, 257. 
Calixtus, St., 31. 
Camillus, M. R, 189. 
Campagna, 4, 45, 46, 39, 53, 294, 
295. 
An inhabitant of, 209, 210, 211. 
Campus Martius, 4, 12, 65, 66. 
Candelabra of Sevres, 128. 

Barberini, 132. 
Canova, 106, 113. 

Capitol, 2, 24, 25, 28, 29, 33, 
175. 
Museum, 25, 172. 
Observatory of, 2, 24, 25, 29, 
33, 172. 
Cappuccini Catacombs, 38, 275, 276, 

277. 
Cappuccini, Church of, 277. 
Capua, 262. 
Caracalla, 264. 
Carlisle, Thomas, 146. 
Carnival, 149. 
Castle of the Anicii, 2, 14. 



Castle of Gandolfo, 68. 

St. Angelo, 1, 4, 20, 21, 22, 

22, 25, 52, 67, 79, 138, 139, 140, 
144, 145, 152, 153. 
Catacombs, 50. 

Cappuccini, 38, 275, 276, 277. 
Cato, 39. 

Cellini Benvenuto, 143, 249. 
Cenci, Beatrice, 143. 
Cestus, Gaius, 17. 

Lucius, 17. 
Champs de Mars, 5, 82. 
Character, Greatness of Roman, 238. 
Charlemagne, 72. 
Chigi Agostino, 20. 
Christianity recognized in Rome, 

271, 272. 
Christina, Queen, 20. 
Chrysostom, 98. 
Churches, early, 34, 67. 
Church fathers, 98. 
Church of S. Adriano, 26, 195. 

S. Agnese, 1, 4, 24, 55. 

St. Alessio, 3, 49. 

S. Andrea della Fratte, 4, 60. 

S. Andrea della Valle, 23. 

S. Bartolomeo, 1, 14. 

S. Bonaventura, 32, 252. 

S. Caecelia, 3, 46. 

S. Cappuccini, 38, 60. 

S. Carlo a Catinari, 23. 

S. Cosma Damiano, 232. 

S. Crisogono, 2, 32, 37. 

Francesca Romana, 27, 201, 222. 

Giovanni Colabita, 1, 14. 

Giovanni di Fiorentini, 1, 22. 

Nome di Maria, 36, 273. 

S. John Lateran, 2, 3, 28, 43, 
44, 45, 263, 284. 

S. Lorenzo in Miranda, 26, 27, 
196, 219. 

S. M. della Pace, 1, 24. 

S. M. di Loreto, 36, 273. 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



303 



Church of S. M. di Miracoli *3, 148. 
S. M. in Cosmedin, 4. 
S. M. in Monte Santo, 22, 149. 
S. M. of the Angels, 4, 59, 60. 
S. M. Maggiore, 2, 4, 32, 33, 

55, 68, 284. 
S. Onofrius, 1, 21. 
S. Paolo fuori le Mura, 41, 42, 

10, 283, 284, 285, 286. 
S. M. del Popolo, 151, 152. 
S. M. del Sole, 1, 7. 
St. Peter's, 1, 5, 6, 3, 5, 43, 
57, 66, 67, 71, 72, 84, 85, 
94, 95, 96, 145. 

Bronze Statue of St. Peter, 

8, 97, 99, 101, 102, 103. 
Chair of St. Peter, 7, 98. 
Colonnade of, 4, 6, 13, 

51, 52, 84, 85, 86, 117. 
Confession, 97. 
Dome of, 1, 6, 5, 89, 93, 
94, 97. 

Pillars of, 7, 104. 
Facade of, 6, 88. 
Great Altar of, 7, 94, 95, 
96. 
Pillars of, 7, 104. 
Immense size of, 100. 
Obelisk of, 6, 13, 88, 118, 

119. 
Piazza of, 6, 13, 52, 86, 87, 

89, 119. 
" Pieta," 12, 113, 114, 115. 
Tomb of Clement XIII, 11, 
111, 112, 113. 
St. Peter, 7, 9, 97, 
105, 106. 
Tribune of, 7, 98. 
S. Pietro in Montorio, 19, 26. 
S. Pietro in Vincoli, 

Statue of, 270. 
Sabina, 3, 48. 
S. Spirito, 4, 54, 65. 



Church of St. Stefano Rotondo, 3, 48. 
Cicero, 4, 39, 189, 194, 288. 
Circus Maximus, 148. 
Neronianus, 25. 
Citorio, Mt., 79. 

Claudian Aqueduct, 46, 294, 295. 
Claudius, 13, 257. 
Clivus Capitolinus, 191. 
Cloaca Maxima, 1, 27, 16, 17, 24, 

213. 
Cloelia, 20. 
Coli, 274. 

Colonna, Marcus Antonio, 275, 288. 
The, 58, 66. 
Santa, 115. 
Colosseum, 2, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 
34, 27, 179, 239, 240, 241, 242, 
243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 
250, 264. 
Excavators in, 248. 
Interior of, 31, 32, 246. 
Martyrs in, 248. 
Column of Phocas, 26, 27, 28, 29, 
199. 
Trajan, 36, 268, 269, 270, 271. 
Comitium, 26, 195, 196. 
Commodus, Emperor, 139. 
Constantine, the Great, 43, 71, 72, 

271, 272. 
Contractor, A Roman, 17, 18. 
Corsini, Cardinal, 20. 
Corso, Via del, 22, 149, 150. 
Crassus, M., 290. 
Crispi, Premier, 169. 
Criticisms, Listening to, 113. 
Curia, Hostilia, 26, 185. 

Julia, 26, 185. 
Czar of Russia, 128. 



D 



Dacian Kings, 1 
Dante, 79, 149. 



3°4 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



Demidoff, Prince, 12S. 
Dickens, Chas., 250. 
Dioscuri, Statues of, 168. 
Dominic, St., Order of, 49. 
Domitian, 35, 36. 
Drains, Earliest, 17. 



Elector, Maximilian, 126. 
Eliot, George , 117, 282. 
Emerson, 110. 
Empire, The Roman, 29. 

Changes under the, 185. 
Erasmus, 20. 
Euripides, 28. 
Experience of location in Italy, 1. 



Fabii, Monuments of, 263. 
Fabricius, Lucius, 17. 
Factory, A tobacco, 3, 41. 
Faith holding the cross, 10, 110. 
Farewell to Rome, 297, 298, 299. 
Farnese Bull, 265. 
Fathers of the Church, 98. 
Faun, Barberini, 144. 

Dancing, 144. 
Feast of Madonna della Neve, 33. 
St. Caecilia, 47. 
St. Peter's Chair, 98. 
Ferdinand and Isabella, 33. 
Flora at Naples, 265. 
Forum Augustum, 185, 268. 
Julium, 184, 268. 
of Peace, 185. 

Roman, 2, 26, 27, 28, 29, 3, 
10, 16, 26, 173, 174, 175, 
176, 177, 220. 
Destruction of, 186. 
Disappearance of, 187. 
Places of Christian wor- 
ship in, 186. 



Forum of Trajan, 36, 268-275. 

Transitorium, 185. 
Foundling Asylum, 4, 54. 
Fountain of Trevi, 161. 
Fountains, 160. 
France, Art School of, 62. 

Embassy of, 4, 22, 57, 275. 

Sovereigns of , 284. 
Francis of Assisi, 252. 

Q 

Gaetani, 290. 

Gaius, Emperor, 188. 

Galileo, 63. 

Gardens of Adonis, 32, 251. 

of Colonna, 4, 57, 58. 

Maecenas, 28. 

of the Pigna, 5, 75, 76, 79. 

Pincian, 22, 147. 

Quirinal, 4, 57. 

Sallust, 153. 
Gate, St. Paul, 40, 280. 

St. Sebastian, 43, 287, 288, 289. 
Gates of Rome, 40, 288, 289. 
Germany, Emperor of, 128. 
Gherardi, 274. 
Ghetto, 2, 37, 38. 
Goethe, 97, 150. 
Gordianus, the younger, 263. 
Gracchi, 4. 

Gregory the Great, 14. 
Grey, 147, 245. 
Guido Reni, 58, 143, 277. 

H 

Hadrian, 65, 139, 155. 
Hawthorne's estimate of Rome, 298, 
299. 
Marble Faun, 60, 150, 168. 
Heliogobalus, 14, 264. 
Hercules, 265. 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



3o5 



Heretic, Advantages of being a, 

117. 
Hilda's Tower, 150. 
Hill, Aventine, 3, 28, 39. 

Caelian, 2, 3, 28, 42. 

Capitoline, 2, 24, 29, 27, 164, 
232. 

Esquiline, 2, 27, 28. 

Janiculum, 1, 2, 3, 22, 19, 53, 
153. 

Palatine, 2, 27, 32, 27, 180, 250. 
Famous dwellers on, 253. 
History of, 252, 259. 

Pincian, 4, 22, 62. 

Quirinal, 4, 27, 56. 

Viminal, 2, 4, 27. 
Hills of Alban, 3, 29, 39. 

Rome, 2, 3, 4, 6, 22, 3, 26, 
27, 29. 

Sabine, 4, 39. 

Tuscan, 1, 5, 69. 
Honorius, Law of, 50. 
Horace and the " Bore," 225, 226. 
Horatius, 15, 19. 
Hospital, S. Giovanni di Dio, 14. 

S. Spirito, 4, 54, 55. 
Hotel Bear, 149. 
House of the Vestals, 216, 217. 
Houses in Rome, 36, 37, 40. 
Humbert, King, 152. 

Burial of, 159. 
Hyacinth, St., 49. 



I 



Idleness, Roman, 8. 
Ignatius, Martyrdom of St., 248. 
Incongruities, Roman, 9. 
Industries, Roman, 3, 40, 41, 42. 
Inscriptions, Christian, 79, 80. 
Greek and Latin, 79, 80. 



Island of the Tiber, 1, 4, 12, 13, 17, 



Jews in Rome, 150. 
John VIII, 284. 
Johannipolis, 284. 
Johnson, Samuel, 257. 
Julius II, Tomb of, 279. 
Jupiter Capitolinus, 101. 

K 

Keats, John, 151, 281, 282. 
Khedive of Egypt, 128. 



Laocoon, The, 18, 78, 133, 134, 135. 
Latin League, 39. 
Laundress, Roman, 6, 84. 
Leonine City, 25, 68. 
Lepanto, Battle of, 275, 288. 
Life, Brevity of human, 293. 
Young Roman, 293, 294. 
Lions, Heads of, 16. 
Longings for Rome, 105, 299. 
Lorenzetto, 139. 
Lowell, James Russell, 60. 
Lucullus, 63. 
Luther, Martin, 151. 

M 

Macellum Magnum, 48. 
Maderna, 47, 105. 
Manlius, Marcus, 166. 
Map, Description of, 

Forum map, 178, 174. 

General map of Italy, 2. 

Rome, large, 3. 
Marble Faun, by Hawthorne, 60, 

150, 168. 
Marcellus, Theatre of, 25. 
Marius, 194. 



3°6 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



Marguerite, Queen, 152. 
Martial, 35. 
Martius Ancus, 15. 
Martyrs, First, 18, 67. 
Material things not the most essen- 
tial, 237. 
Mehemet Ali, 285. 
Mendelssohn, 58. 

Merchandising, Roman, 90, 91, 92. 
Mercury, 78. 

Metella, Tomb of Caecilia, 16L 
Metellus, Creticus, 290. 
Metta Sudans, 30, 33, 260, 26L 
Michelangelo, 5, 20, 22, 59, 63, 73, 

122, 123, 124, 134, 171, 269, 279. 
"Last Judgment," 14, 5, 122, 

123, 124. 

" Moses," 39, 101, 277, 278, 279. 

"Pieta," 12, 113, 114, 115. 
Miliarium Aureum, 26, 194. 
Military College, 2L 
Monastery of San Bartolomeo, 1, 
14. 

St. Paul, 42, 286. 
Monks of St Peter in Montorio, 

108. 
Mom Aureus, 1, 22, 19. 

Tarpeius, 164. 
Montague, 149. 
Morra, The game of, 36. 
Mountains, Apennine, 29. 

Sabine, 4, 29. 
Mucius, 20. 
Music in Rome, 61, 62. 

N 

Napoleon the Great, 62, 128. 

Ill, 128. 
Nero, 23, 24, 28, 48, 67. 

Christian ma rtyrs in the time 
of, 258. 

Grcus of, 67. 



Nero Golden house of, 258, 259. 

Tomb of, 15L 

Tower, 1, 4, 55. 
Nicholas of Russia, 285. 
u Xiger Lapis," 196. 
Numa Pompilius, 19. 

o 

Obelisk of Thotmes IV, 45. 
Octavius, 20. 
Oliphant, Mrs., 60. 
Otto III, 14. 
Ottobonian Library, 126. 



Palatine Library, 126. 
Palazzo, Caffarelli, 228. 
Caligula, 32, 256. 
Colonna, 37, 58, 274. 
Conservatori, 24, 163, 168. 
Corsini, 1, 20. 
Dataria, 68. 
Farnese, 1, 22. 
Lateran, 3, 45, 68, 72. 
Nero's Golden, 28, 258, 259. 
Quirinal, 4, 56, 57. 
Righetti, 23. 
Rondanini, 150. 
Rospigliosi, 4, 57, 58. 
del Senatore, 24, 25, 162, 171, 

172. 
Spada, 1, 2L 

Vaticano, 5, 6, 13, 67, 68, 69, 
70, 72, 73, 74, 84, 100, 116, 
119, 120. 
Braccio Nuovo, 5, 80. 
Codex Vaticanus, 129. 
Court of the Belvidere, 5, 
74, 78. 

Damascus, 6, 85. 
Egyptian Museum, 5, 78. 
Etruscan Museum, 5, 78. 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



307 



Palazzo Galteria Arazzi, 5, 77. 
Lapidaria, 5, 79. 
Statues, 5, 17, 78, 130, 
132. 
Garden of the Pigna, 5, 

75, 76, 78, 79. 
Gardens, 5, 19, 77, 81, 136, 

137. 
Hall of the Animals, 5, 78. 
Biga, 5, 79. 
Muses, 5, 78. 
Inhabitants of the, 116. 
Library, 5, 16, 70, 77, 80, 
101, 127, 128, 129. 
Corridor of, 15, 77, 
125. 
Museum Chiaramonti, 5, 

79. 
Papal Apartments, 5, 13, 

116. 
Pauline Chapel, 5, 76. 
Picture Galleries, 5, 75, 76. 
Rotunda, 5, 78. 
Sala Ducal, 5, 76. 

Regia, 5, 76. 
Semicircle of the Pigna, 5, 
79. 
Vespasian, 32, 255. 
Pantheon, 4, S3, 10, 56, 65, 86, 97, 

155, 156, 157, 158, 159. 
Papacy, 25. 
Paul, St., the Apostle, 288, 292. 

Tomb of, 285. 
Peter of Illyria, 48. 
Peter, St., Episcopacy of, 104. 

Martyrdom, 293. 
Petrarch, 274. 
Piazza del Laterano, 45. 
Popolo, 22, 147, 151. 
della Rotundo, 160. 
Rusticucci, 6, 85, 86. 
di San Pietro, 4, 51, 52, 151. 
di Spagna, 151. 



Piazza di Trevi, 151. 
Pinturicchio, 263. 
Pipers, Ancient, 189. 
Pius, Antonius, 79, 139. 
Pliny, 118, 133. 
Pompey, 63. 

Residence of, 39. 

Senate House of, 65. 
Statue of, 21. 

Theatre of, 23, 24, 25, 65. 
Ponte, Aelian, 21, 25, 145, 146. 

Aemilius, 14. 

Aurelius, 18. 

Fabrician, 10, 25. 

Garibaldi, 1, 18. 

Palatino, 1, 14. 

Quattro Capi, 1, 10, 11, 18. 

San Bartolomeo, 1, 17. 

Sestius, 17, 25. 

Sisto, 1, 18, 19, 21. 

Sublicius, 1, 15, 16. 

St. Angelo, 20, 21, 138. 
Pope Adrian VI, 133. 

Boniface IV, 156. 

Cabinet of the, 116. 

Calixtus I, 30. 

Clement IX, 139. 

XIII, Tomb of, 11, 111, 
112, 113. 

Constance II, 156. 

Eugene III, 72. 

Gregory the Great, 140, 270. 

II, 103. 
XI, 72. 
XVI, 43, 105. 

Innocent III, 72. 
John XXIII, 67. 
Julius II, 20, 71. 

III, 78. 
Leo IV, 25. 

X, 20. 
XIII, 81. 
Liberius, 32. 



3°8 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



Pope Martin V, 274. 
Nicholas III, 72. 

V, 73. 
Paschal I, 46. 
Paul III, 187. 

Tomb of, 7, 99. 

V, 105. 
Pius VI, 9, 106. 

VII, 128, 187. 
IX, 12b. 

Simplicus, 48. 

Sixtus V, 68, 118, 148, 168, 172. 
Symmachus, 72. 
Urban I, 46. 
II, 14. 

VIII, 156, 157. 
Tomb of, 7, 99. 

Popes, Return of, from France, 68, 

72. 
Porsena Lars, 19. 
Porta Appia, 43, 287, 288. 

Capena, 263, 287. 

del Popolo, 152. 

S. Paolo, 40, 279, 280. 

S. Sebastiano, 43, 288, 289. 
Porticus Margaritaria, 27, 224. 
Portico of the twelve gods, 26, 29, 

181, 190. 
Praetexatus, V. A., 191. 
Profile of St Peter and St. Paul, 

102. 
Prometheus Unbound, 268. 
Prophecy, An Anglo-Saxon, 249. 
Protestant Cemetery, 281, 282, 283. 
Pyramid of Gaius Cestus, 40, 281. 



Rainaldi, 171. 

Raphael, 20, 26, 73, 77, 85, 86, 109, 

152, 274. 
Raphael's Bible, 77. 

House, 6, 85. 

Logia, 5, 6, 76, 85. 



Raphael's Power, 159. 
Stanza of, 76. 
"Transfiguration," 10, 26, 76, 

107, 108, 109, 110. 
Regia, 27, 6, 217, 218, 219. 
Religious power, The centre of 

Rome's, 51. 
Repairs to ancient structures, 9. 
Rest, The technique of, 71. 
Restaurant, A Roman, 61. 
Rienzi, 167. 
Roman Empire, 65. 
Rome, A day in old, 242, 243. 

Longings for, 105, 299. 
Romulus and Remus, 24. 
Romulus, Site of ancient city of, 

252. 
Rostra Julii, 208, 209. 
Vetera, 26, 193. 
Route of the Italian Tour, 2. 
Ruskin, 272. 



Sacra Via, 27, 29, 33, 200, 201, 

225, 260. 
Sangallo, Antonio da, 22. 
Santa Culla, 33. 
Saracenic Invasion, 154. 
Savage, An Albanian, 296, 297, 298. 
Scala Sancta, 45. 
Schola Xanthi, 191. 
Scipio, 4, 184. 
Scott, Walter, Sir, 60, 61. 
Sculptured Plutei, 26, 199. 
Senate House, 197. 
Servius Tullius, 32. 
Seventh Cohort of Vigles, 32. 
Severn, 281, 282. 
Severus, Septimius, 139. 

Arch of, 26, 29, 181, 192. 

Alexander, 31, 46, 264. 
Sfondra, Cardinal, 47. 
Shadows, Roman, 6. 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



309 



Shakespeare, 109. 
Shelley, 134, 267, 268, 282, 283. 
Silvesta, St., 72. 

Sistine Chapel, 5, 6, 13, 14, 75, 76, 
85, 120, 121, 122. 

An American in, 122. 
Spain, Sovereigns of, 284. 
Sports, Roman, 241. 
Statue, Famous Equestrian, 169. 

Jupiter Capitolinus, 8, 101. 
Stone, The Black, 196. 
Story, William, 60, 100. 
Street Cleaning, 44, 290. 
Sulla, 194, 206. 
Superstition, An Italian, 19. 
Swiss Guards, 120. 



Tabernae Argentariae, 183. 

Novae, 183. 

Veteres, 183. 
Tabularium, 26, 28, 29, 27, 30, 165, 

187, 232, 233. 
Tarpeia, 164. 
Tarquinius Priscus, 19. 
Tarquins, 12, 16, 24, 64, 233. 
Tasso, 21. 
Temple of .^sculapius, 12, 14, 25. 

Apollo, 65, 254. 

Caesar, 185, 202, 208, 209. 

Castor and Pollux, 27, 180, 205, 
206, 2OT. 

Ceres, 50. 

Concord, 26, 175, 181, 188. 

Diana, 50. 

Faunus, 12, 14. 

Greek, A, 7. 

Hercules, 6. 

Julius Caesar, 27, 175, 185, 202, 



Juno Regina, 48. 



Temple of Jupiter, 165. 

Mars, 185. 

Matuta, 1, 6, 220. 

Mercury, 50. 

Minerva, 96. 

Romulus, 27, 29, 220, 232. 

Sacra Urbs, 27, 220. 

Saturn, 26, 27, 29, 178, 179. 
180, 181, 195, 202. 

Veiovis, 12. 

Venus and Rome, 27, 222. 

Venus Victrix, 23. 

Vespasian, 26, 29, 175, 181, 
182, 187. 

Vesta, 6, 200, 201, 202, 214, 215. 
Tertullian, 23. 

Theatre of Marcellus, 22, 25. 
Thorwaldsen, 61, 112. 
Tiber, 1, 4, 20, 21, 4, 9, 10, 11, 52, 

145. 
Tiberius, 189. 

Tiled roofs of Rome, 6, 93. 
Tintoretto, 274. 
Tischendorf, 130. 
Titian, 274. 

Titus, Calamities in time of, 225. 
Tivoli, 39. 

Tomb of Hadrian, 22, 25. 
Tombs, Venerable, 45, 291, 292, 293. 
Torre Mezza Strada, 45, 292. 
Tower of the Capitol, 2, 24> 29, 
33, 27, 32, 162, 163. 

Nero, 2, 4, 27, 55. 
Trajan, 155. 
Trastevere, 34, 35, 36. 
Triumph, A Roman, 235, 236. 
Turris Chartularia, 245. 



u 

Umbilicus Romae, 26, 195. 
Urbino Library, 126. 



3io 



INDEX TO STEREOGRAPHS AND BOOK. 



Valerianus, 47. 
Valerius Maximus, 23. 
Van Dyke, 274. 
Veronese, 274. 
Verus, Lucius, 139. 
Vestal Virgins, 217. 
Via Appia, 44, 45, 169, 262, 287, 
288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293. 
Flaminia, 65, 152. 
Sacra, 27, 29, 33, 200, 201, 225, 
260, 288. 
Ancient pavement of, 29, 
230, 231. 
Triumphalis, 33, 261, 288. 
Victor Emmanuel I, 72, 290. 

II, 152. 
Vigles, Seventh Cohort of, 32. 
Villa Barberini, 22, 153. 
Borghese, 152. 



Villa Farnesina, 1,20. 

Gabriella, 1, 21. 

Maecenas, 1, 2, 28. 

Medici, 4, 62, 63. 
Virgil, 28. 
Virginius, 208. 

w 

Walls, Aurelian, 40, 43, 280, 281, 
287, 288. 

of Leo IV, 22, 154. 

of Servius Tullius, 49. 
Water Supply, 295. 
Wine Shops, 44, 291. 
World's Topmost Man, 211. 
Worshipers, A crowd of, 102, 103. 



Zenobia, Queen, 292. 



Stereoscopic Photographs have often been thought of in the 

past as a novelty, as a means of amusement and entertainment. 

Their great possibilities of usefulness are now being recognized. 

Think over the meaning of the following statements in regard to our 

stereographs. 

"I am greatly delighted with the perfection of workmanship exhibited in these 
remarkable pictures. They obtain a degree of realism that amounts to absolute per- 
fection. Those who purchase them will be well repaid. They will be an inspiration and 
an education in the household."— Charles Cuthbert Hall, D.D., Pres. of Union Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

" In looking over your stereoscopic photographs, it seems to me that they give ab- 
solutely final facts. They are so realistic and natural that one feels as if he is beholding 
the actual scenery ; so realistic is the scene made that he obtains the inspiration which 
actual sight gives."— John L. Bates, Lieut.-Governor of Mass. 

" They (the Underwood Palestine stereographs) are such lifelike reproductions of 
the places where our Lord lived and walked and taught, the figures and the scenes are 
brought out so clearly, that it is almost the same as if we were actually traveling in the 
Holy Land."— F. N. Peloubet, D.D., Editor of " Select Notes " on the S. S. Lessons. 

"By the use of the stereoscope these scenes are made living realities to an extent 
that is positively startling to one who has traveled through the East."— Frank K. 
Sanders, Ph.D., Yale University. 



They are a marvel of realism ; they have taken me back to the Nile and brought 

" ssed there as vividly as wh 
LL.D., Brown University. 



again under my eyes the very scenes I witnessedjthejre as vividly as when I watcfied 
them on the spot."— J. Irving Manatt, Ph.D 



" They are the best substitute for an actual visit to those lands that I have ever 
seen."— Archibald McCullagh, D.D., Worcester, Mass. 

" I have seen nothing so realistic since my visit to the Orient."— C. R. Blackall, D.D., 
Editor of Periodicals, Baptist Publication Society. 

" It gives me pleasure to declare that your stereoscopic views of Italy and the Holy 
Land are the best I have ever seen."— Archbishop Ryan, of Philadelphia. 

"The next best thing to visiting them (Rome, Jerusalem, etc.) is to have them 
brought before the eye by very perfect stereoscopic views."— Dr. Theo. L. Cuyler. 

" They afford the only means by which the many who cannot travel may gain a real 
acquaintance with other lands and peoples."— William Elder, A.M., Sc.D., Colby 
University. 

" I have found these views * * * in particular to possess an educational value of 
great importance to scholars, students, artists, professional men, and indeed to the 
general public."— John Clark Ridpath, LL.D., New York. 



UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, New York and London 



STEREOGRAPHS vs. REALITY 



But when all is said we come at reality in books only through interpreting symbols 
by the power of our imagination and through the illumination afforded by our persona 
experiences. Books cannot furnish us with new perceptions of realities. They can remir.d 
us, recall to us, suggest to us what we have seen or experienced, and with their aid the 
imagination may construct, using the materials it has, more or less correct notions of what 
we have never beheld. We are brought a great step nearer the actual by pictures. It is a 
mistake to suppose that mere amusement or entertainment explains our love of pictures 
They go far to satisfy our desire for actuality, with the information the mind craves. Hence 
the importance of abundant illustrations in school work can hardly be exaggerated. Children 
earn more from the pictures in their geographies than from the text. So the modern school- 
book in almost all subjects abounds in illustrations and is thereby not so much embellished 
merely, as enriched in power to convey instruction. 

But in late years has been perfected something that, in my judgment, goes ahead of 
pictures, and quenches the mind's thirst for the concrete almost as completely as the very 
object before the bodily sight. I refer to the stereograph. The art of illustration, as we all 
know, has been marvelously improved in recent years. Our commonest school-books to-day 
have process illustrations that for accuracy, delicacy and beauty are greatly superior to the 
best of sixty years since. Our ten-cent magazines are familiar miracles of picture-books . 
Certainly, the human mind has been vastly enriched by this cheapening and perfecting of 
processes of illustration. But even the best pictures we still feel to be but pictures ; they do 
not create the illusions of reality, solidity, depth. "The best in this kind are but shadows." 
But with the stereoscope the wonder of photography is brought to its culmination. Man is a 
two-eyed animal, and the stereoscope with its two lenses that blend two pictures into one is 
like a pair of omnipresent human eyes, at the command of every one. — George J. Smith, 
Ph. D. y Board of School Examiners, New York. 



UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD 

NEW YORK LONDON 



UNDERWOOD STEREOSCOPIC TOURS 

...PRESS NOTICES... 



In these days of ingenuity and enterprise the improvements made in old devices 
are often quite as remarkable as the discoveries of new ones. Of course everyone has 
heard of and in all probabilities has used a stereoscope, but we must confess that when 
your representative came into our office last evening and showed us the remarkable 
series of stereographs now being issued by Underwood & Underwood of New York City, 
we were most remarkably surprised and ' interested ; for instead of beholding an ordinary 
flat and lifeless picture, we found ourselves apparently looking out into an actual space, 
as if the stereograph were simply a window with the scene lying out beyond it. This 
remarkable effect is obtained by the use of a double camera, the two photographs being 
so united by the fine Underwood scope as to produce the same result as is obtained by 
the human eye. 

For a number of years this enterprising firm has spared neither expense nor effort 
in applying this principle to whatever was best worth seeing in every part of the 
world. In the Philippines, South Africa and China, their operators have braved even 
the dangers of redoubt and firing line, while recording with the sun's unerring pencil 
a first-hand series of those stirring scenes. Yet even more striking is the series from 
Martinique, the work of their expert photographer, Mr. Leadbeater, whose daring 
ascent of Mt. Pelee in company with Professor Heilpnn, of Philadelphia, was so highly 
praised in the press reports. These wonderful stereographs tell the story of St. Pierre 
with a fidelity and vividness far beyond the power of any mere description. 

But perhaps the feature of this work that is fraught with the greatest significance 
is the unique and effective method of combining the stereographs of important places, 
such as Rome, Jerusalem, etc., with a series of specially prepared maps by means of 
which both the point of view and the extent of vision in each stereograph is definitely 
shown, so that the relation of each stereograph scene to every other one and to the 
whole city can be seen at a glance. With these maps and the accompanying guide- 
books we get an experience which is, to quote the words of Dr. Peloubet with refer- 
ence to the Palestine series, " almost the same as if we were actually traveling in the 
Holy Land," a real substitute for actual travel. 

After looking over these, remarkable photographs we feel that we cannot express 
our impressions better than in the words of Professor Sayce, the eminent Egyptol- 
ogist of Oxford University. He says, " Each of them is a study in itself ; it is at once 
clear, artistic and well chosen. I cannot conceive of anything better, either for educa- 
tional purposes or for preserving a permanent memorial of the country and its 
inhabitants."— Lynchburg* Va., News. 



The stereograph record of William McKinley, as President of the United States, 
is a work of genuine historical interest and value. It consists of a series of sixty 
stereoscopic photographs of the late President at his official duties in Washington and 
on the memorable railroad journeys made across the country in the last year of his 
life. With the exception of the latest ones, each of the stereographs was examined 
through the stereoscope by the President, and received his personal approval. The 
descriptive text accompanying the photographs greatly enhances the educational value 
of the series. The stereograph as a means of instruction has already commended 
itself to educators, and is being introduced in a number of public schools. It offers 
an effective method of impressing the importance of historical events on the mind of 
the child. The government uses stereoscopic photographs for instruction in the 
Military Academy at West Point.— Review of Reviews^ New York. 



UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD 

NEW YORK LONDON 



UNDERWOOD STEREOSCOPIC TOURS 

...PRESS NOTICES... 



Perhaps none of the achievements of photography, and they are many, equal in 
value those of the stereoscope which have been admirably presented on many occa- 
sions by Messrs. Underwood & Underwood, of London and New York*. The public 
will not soon forgret the vivid glimpses of the South African War obtained through 
the enterprise and the skill of this firm. For the photographs taken for and seen 
through the stereoscope reveal form and space with a sense of reality that has to be 
seen to be realized. Once seen, it is easy enough to understand the eulogy of Oliver 
Wendell Holmes : " Oh, infinite volumes of poems that I treasure in this small 
library of glass and pasteboard." Messrs. Underwood & Underwood have hit on the 
happy device of a series of tours, and with descriptive books and special maps the views 
are arranged in the order in which they would be witnessed by the tourist. How 
excellently this has been done may be judged by " Russia Through the Stereoscope . 
A Journey across the Land of the Czar from Finland to the Black Sea," which, as 
it is quaintly put, is "personally conducted by M. 5. Emery, author of ' How to Enjoy 
Pictures.''' With the book, which is charmingly written, and the accompanying 
maps, which are clearly drawn, the reader is able to follow the tour and to appreciate 
the history and characteristics of the people and the places that the photographs con- 
jure up with realistic force. The plan is useful as preparation or as reminder to those 
who can afford to travel ; more useful still to those who for one reason or another 
are unable to do so. and most useful of all as an educational agency, since the acquisi- 
tion of geographical knowledge is thus converted from a task into a recreation. Messrs. 
L'nderwood & Underwood deserve the thanks, as they are likely to secure the patronage, 
of the community for their spirited and successful work. — Morning Post, London. 

The educational value of the stereographic publications of Messrs. L'nderwood & 
Underwood has long been widely recognized. The Stereoscopic Photograph has 
depth, and therefore gives the semblance of life lacking in the ordinary photograph. 
It is the best form of visualization available in the home, and it was a happy thought 
of the publishers to include in their series, mainly devoted to "tours'" of the great 
countries of the world, and to such subjects as the Spanish- American and Boer Wars, 
record of William McKinley as President of this country. The dead statesman, 
with his unfailing good humor and courtesy, facilitated in every way the taking of these 
photographs, which represent him taking the oath of office in Washington, at the head 
of the council table in the cabinet room, at home with Mrs. McKinley m the White 
House, at Montauk, in the South and West, delivering his public speeches, and preserve 
the memory of the dark days of mourning that followed the deed of the assassin at 
Buffalo. 

A pictorial record of the administration of William McKinley, this, worth having 
and preserving. These stereographs are more than a mere pastime for young and old. 
The travel series are decidedly educative, the subjects being chosen with discrimination 
and sound knowledge. The present series, too, has not been made at haphazard. It 
presents the President as the greater part of the people who elected him came to know 
him, on public occasions in which he took part, uttering the passages in his speeches 
which sounded the keynote of his policy, and of his faith in the future of the republic. 

A small volume of text accompanies the photographs, containing a biography of 
Mr. McKinley, and extracts from President Roosevelt's message to Congress, Senator 
Foraker's speech, and the sermons of Cardinal Gibbons, Dr. MacArthur, Dr. Morris 
Kemp and Rabbis Grossman and Silverman. — Mail and Express 



UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD 

NEW YORK LONDON 



UNDERWOOD STEREOSCOPIC TOURS 

The Underwood "Tours " of Original Stereoscopic Photographs are put up in 
neat leatherette cases, as indicated below, and the stereographs are arranged in the order 
a tourist would visit the actual places. 

Our improved Aluminum-Mahogany Stereoscope sells for 90 cents. This is not in- 
cluded in the prices given below. A higher-priced stereoscope can be furnished if 
desired. 

The " Traveling in the Holy Land " Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic 
Photographs, descriptive book, in cloth, by Dr. J. L. Hurlbut, with seven Patent Maps 
and Leatherette Case, — $17.60. 

The " Jerusalem " Tour (a part of the "Traveling in the Holy Land" Tour)— 
27 Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive pamphlet, with new Patent Map and Case, — 
$4-50. 

The Russian Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive book, in 
cloth, by M. S. Emery, with ten Patent Maps and Leatherette Case,— $17.60. 

The " St. Petersburg *' Tour (a part of the Russian Tour)— 39 Stereoscopic 
Photographs, descriptive book with five Patent Maps and Case, — $6.50. 

The " Moscow " Tour (a part of the Russian Tour)— 27 Stereoscopic Photographs, 
descriptive book with three Patent Maps and Case, — $4.50. 

The Italian Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive book, in 
cloth, by D. J. Ellison, D.D., with ten Patent Maps and Leatherette Case,— $18.00. 

The Rome Tour (a part of the Italian Tour)— 46 Stereoscopic Photographs, de- 
scriptive book, in cloth, with five patent Maps and Case, — $8.60. 

The '* Egypt and Its Wonders " Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, 
descriptive book, in cloth, and Leatherette Case,— $16.60. 

The Chinese Tour — 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive book, in 
cloth, by James Ricalton, with eight Patent Maps and Leatherette Case,— $17.75. 

The Hongkong and Canton Tour (a part of the Chinese Tour)— 15 Stereoscopic 
Photographs, descriptive book with three Patent Maps and Case, — $2.50. 

The Boxer Uprising, Cheefoo, Taku, Tien-tsin (a part of the Chinese Tour)— 26 
Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive book and three Patent Maps and Case, — $4.35. 

The Pekin Tour (a part of the Chinese Tour)— 31 Stereoscopic Photographs, 
descriptive book with two Patent Maps and Case, — $5.25. 

The Swiss Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive books, in 
cloth, by M. S. Emery, with eleven Patent Maps and Leatherette Case,— $17.75 • 

The Lake L.ucerne Tour (a part of the Switzerland Tour)—ii Stereoscopic 
Photographs, with descriptive book and three Patent Maps, — $1.85. 

The Bernese Alps Tour (a part of the Switzerland Tour)— 27 Stereoscopic 
Photographs, with descriptive book and three Patent Maps,— $4.50. 

The Engadine Tour (a part of the Switzerland Tour)— 8 Stereoscopic Photo- 
graphs, with descriptive book and four Patent Maps, — $1.35. 

The Zermatt Tour (a part of the Switzerland Tour) — 15 Stereoscopic Photo- 
graphs, with descriptive book and two Patent Maps, — $2.50. 

The Mont Blanc Tour (a part of the Switzerland Tour)— 23 Stereoscopic 
Photographs, with descriptive book and two Patent Maps,— $3.85. 

The Trench Tour — 72 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette Case, 
— $12.00. 

The "Paris Exposition" Tour— 60 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, Map 
with New Patent System and Description, and Leatherette Case, — $10.00. 

The Spanish Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette 
Case,— $16.60. 

The Portuguese Tour— 60 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette 
Case,— $10.00. 

The German Tour— 84 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette Case, 
— $14.00. 

The Austrian Tour— 84 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette 
Case,— $14.00. 



The "Great Britain" Tour— 72 Origrinal Stereoscopic Photographs and 

Leatherette Case, — $12.00. 

The Scandinavian Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leather- 
ette Case,— $16.60. 

The Grecian Tour— 72 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette Case, 
—$12.00. 

The Japanese Tour — 72 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette 
Case,— $12.00. 

The "United States" Tour, No. 1— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs 
and Leatherette Case, — $16.60. 

The " United States " Tour, No. 2—200 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and 
Leatherette Cases, — $33.20. 

The "Philippine" Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leather- 
ette Case,— $16.60. 

The Cuban and Porto Rican Set— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs 
and Leatherette Case,— $16.60. 

The Spanish-American "War Set— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs 
and Leatherette Case,— $16.60. (A Set of 72 and Case,— $12.00.) 

The Mexican Tour— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and Leatherette 
Case,— $16.60. 

The British-Boer War Set— 100 Original Stereoscopic Photographs and 
Leatherette Case,— $16.60. 

The "Trip Around the "World" Tour— 72 Original Stereoscopic Photo- 
graphs, with descriptive book and Leatherette Case,— $12.00. 

The "Niagara Falls'' Tour— 18 Original Stereoscopic Photographs with neat 
Case and descriptive book, with two Patent Maps, — $3.00. 

The Yosemite Tour— 24 Original Stereoscopic Photographs, descriptive book, by 
Chas. Q. Turner, with Patent Map and Case, — $4.00. 

"President McKinley" Set No. 1, containing 12 Stereographs in a neat 
Case,— $2.00. 

" President McKinley " Set No. 2, containing 24 Stereographs in a neat 
Case.— $4.00. 

" President McKinley " Set No. 4, containing 48 Stereographs in a neat 
Leatherette Case, with descriptive book,— $8.50. 

"President McKinley" Set No. 5, containing 60 Stereographs in a neat 
Leatherette Case, with descriptive book, — $10.50, or in a genuine leather case, velvet 
lined, with inscription stamped in silver, — $12.00. 

Other interesting and instructive tours can be made up from our large collection of 
stereographs always in stock. 

We advise our customers to purchase complete series on the countries they may be 
interested in. One hundred Stereoscopic Photographs of one country will generally 
give much better satisfaction than the same number scattered over several countries. 
Many of our patrons are placing all of our Educational Stereoscopic Tours in their homes 
alongside of the standard works in their libraries. Schools and public libraries are 
finding our Stereographs very helpful in their work. The United States Government 
considers them so valuable that all Educational Tours published to date, with the new 
Underwood Extension Cabinet, were recently purchased for the U. S. Military Academy 
at West Point. 

When two or more of the "100" tours are wanted, we recommend the "New 
Underwood Extension Cabinet,"— the only practical Stereograph Cabinet in 
existence. It can be " built up " from time to time as desired, holding from 200 to 2,000 
Stereographs, or more. 

UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, 

Fifth Avenue and 19th Street, New York. 

LONDON, ENGLAND. 
TORONTO, CANADA. 
OTTAWA, KANSAS. 
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. 



AUG 2 3 1902 



AUG 23 1902 



